McConnell Slams Proposed IRS Rule Targeting Conservative Groups | Reid Blocks Trade Promotion Authority

Today in Washington, D.C. - Jan. 30, 2014:
The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and resumed consideration of S. 1926, the flood insurance bill. At 11:15, the Senate held a series of votes on amendments to the bill. Senators voted 34-65 to reject an amendment from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), 24-75 to reject an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), and 49-50 to reject an amendment from Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV). The senate then recessed until 1:50 PM when they will vote on final passage of S. 1926.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 64-35 to waive a budget point of order against S. 1926.

The House is not in session today.  However, at a press conference today, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) addressed the Senate Majority Leader Reid’s recent comments opposing Trade Promotion Authority, and called on President Obama “to stand up and lead on this issue” to help boost exports and create more American jobs. 

Boehner said, "I think in order to maximize our year, it’s important that we show the American people that we’re not just the opposition party – we’re actually the alternative party.

“We’ve passed dozens of bills this year that would help the economy, would help improve education, improve energy production in America, mostly sitting over in the United States Senate. But I think Republicans have to do more to talk about the better solutions that we think we have that will help the American people grow their wages, have opportunities at a better job, and clearly have a better shot at the American Dream.

“Listen, we know that the president’s policies are not working. That’s why we need to show the American people that the policies that we’re in favor of really will improve their lives.

“You know, one of the president’s priorities is Trade Promotion Authority. And I’ve made clear over the last several months that the president needs to engage in this issue. This morning, the Senate Majority Leader said he was not in favor of Trade Promotion Authority. Trade Promotion Authority allows the administration to negotiate with our colleagues and allies around the world to expand trade. Expanded trade means more opportunities for Americans, more exports. So the question is, ‘Is the president going to stand up and lead on this issue?’ We cannot pass this bill without his help. And if this is one of his own priorities, you would think that he would have the Senate Majority Leader working with him to pass Trade Promotion Authority in order to expand opportunities for our fellow citizens.”

Another comment regarding President Obama's use of lofty rhetoric about opportunity and his plan to revive the economy during his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Heritage Foundation economist Stephen Moore says the reality doesn’t match the rhetoric: "Opportunity for All is such an uplifting pro-America theme. But doesn’t this mean school choice? Doesn’t it mean cleaning up the crime and corruption in cities? Doesn’t it mean discouraging fatherless homes? Doesn’t it mean keeping tax rates low and regulations light so people can set out a shingle and start businesses? Obama has been the anti-opportunity society president." Recommend reviewing Heritage Experts Analyze President Obama's State of the Union Speech.

On another major issue, Fox News reports, that  “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed the White House on ‘The Kelly File’ Wednesday night for initiating a new Treasury Department rule that would redefine what political groups can do and keep their tax-exempt status, a regulation he believes is meant to silence conservatives. The proposed regulation would create a new term, ‘candidate-related political activity,’ to help the IRS decide which social welfare organizations qualify for tax-exempt status, according to The Washington Post. . . . McConnell, R-Ky., told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly he believes this is another example of the Obama administration bypassing Congress, and the regulation will unfairly target conservatives. ‘You’re looking at an administration trying to silence the voices of their critics going into this important fall election,’ McConnell said.”

In a Wall Street Journal column last week, Kimberley Strassel explained where this rule came from. “The fight was sparked by a new rule that the Treasury Department and the IRS introduced during the hush of Thanksgiving recess, ostensibly to ‘improve’ the law governing nonprofits. What the rule in fact does is recategorize as ‘political’ all manner of educational activities that 501(c)(4) social-welfare organizations currently engage in. It's IRS targeting all over again, only this time by administration design and with the raw political goal—as House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R., Mich.) notes—of putting ‘tea party groups out of business.’ . . . It only makes sense in a purely political context. The president's approval ratings are in the toilet, the economy is in idle, the ObamaCare debate rages on, and the White House has a Senate majority to preserve. With one little IRS rule it can shut up hundreds of groups that pose a direct threat by restricting their ability to speak freely in an election season about spending or ObamaCare or jobs. And it gets away with it by positioning this new targeting as a fix for the first round. This week's Democratic rally-round further highlights the intensely political nature of their IRS rule. It was quietly dropped in the runup to the holiday season, to minimize the likelihood of an organized protest during its comment period. That 90-day comment period meantime ends on Feb. 27, positioning the administration to shut down conservative groups early in this election cycle.”

Leader McConnell took the Senate floor today to blast the Obama administration for the rule. He said, “James Madison once wrote, ‘I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.’ And that’s just what’s going on here. The fact is, right now the Obama administration is getting ready to codify the same kind of intimidation and harassment of its political opponents that stunned a nation last year. . . . [I]t’s time we start talking about it. Because what the administration is planning here is nothing less than declaring a war not just on its opponents, but on free speech itself. Here’s their plan: the administration proposes to redefine political activity so broadly that grass-root groups all across the country that exist for the sole purpose of speaking out on issues of liberty or limited government or free enterprise or anything else that the administration doesn’t want to hear about will be forced to shut down. Just by speaking out on these issues of broad public concern, they’d be ruled out of bounds under new IRS rules — just in time, by the way, for the mid-term elections. If you think that this kind of speech is precisely what the First Amendment was written to protect, you’d be right. So this is a hugely important. And that’s why groups all along the political spectrum, and the folks that support them, are increasingly concerned. Now, as usual, the folks who are pushing this new assault on speech tell us it’s some kind of good-government proposal that increases transparency. But the truth is, the only thing transparent here is the administration’s thuggish attempt to shut down its critics.”

“The arrogance here is just breathtaking,” he continued. “But we’ve seen this kind of thing again and again from our liberal friends over the years. They just can’t accept a public that disagrees with their plans for the country. They just can’t seem to accept a society in which ‘we the people’ establish the rules, not them. And whether it’s the Fairness Doctrine, or the DISCLOSE Act, they want those who disagree with them to sit down and shut up. Their view is: You can fight for your ideals. You can speak out — but only if you agree with me. If you’re on the other side, you don’t have a right to speak out. And not only that, I’m going to put you out of business. I’m going to use the IRS to identify anybody who disagrees with me and shut them up. And I’m doing it through regulation, because I can’t pass it through legislation. This is just one way the President plans to go around the peoples’ elected representatives this year. And every American needs to know about this abuse of power. Let me be clear: what the administration is proposing poses a grave threat to the ability of ordinary Americans to freely participate in the democratic process. I think that if the American people knew what the administration was really up to, they’d react with the same kind of outrage they did last year about the targeting of conservatives at the IRS.”

As Strassel pointed out, this “puts a spotlight on newly sworn-in IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, who vowed during his confirmation hearing to restore public trust in the agency, and now must decide whether to aid in a new and blatantly political abuse of IRS powers.” Speaking to Megyn Kelly last night, McConnell explained that the new IRS Commissioner is the key figure here. “We’ve got a new commissioner over at the IRS. I want to see if he has the integrity to stand up to this White House, like the IRS Commissioner did when Richard Nixon was trying to use the IRS to achieve a political objective. Will this new, fresh IRS Commissioner, coming in to clean up this troubled agency, be used by this White House to silence critics? Will he throw the IRS right in the middle of this big political debate?”

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