WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today said the Obama Administration used the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a political arm to actively work against conservative groups and suppress electoral activities of groups that did not agree with the views of the administration.

Speaking at a Senate Finance Committee, Roberts said, “In my reading of the factual information presented in the report, there was systematic suppression of the free speech rights of these organizations, which is sadly ongoing. The end result has been a grave reduction in the taxpaying public’s faith in the agency – This is a horrible situation, compounded by the agency’s half-heartedly efforts to locate and preserve records relevant to this situation.”

The hearing examined the IRS’s response to the committee’s bipartisan report that detailed their investigation into the IRS’s treatment of organizations applying for tax-exempt status. Roberts questioned IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, on accountability at the IRS following this report, saying, “Has anyone involved in this been fired, fined, reprimanded, denied a bonus, slapped on the wrist, or even received a stern “talk to”?”

Roberts full prepared remarks are available below or you can watch the full exchange here.

Chairman Hatch, Ranking Member Wyden, thank you for this hearing on our committee’s report on the IRS’ actions with regard to the suppression of electoral activities of groups whose views do not coincide with those of the White House.

Having gone over the report – it’s clear that this was a massive effort. I remain deeply concerned and, worse, have no confidence that we have all of the information we need to make a final determination on the IRS’s activities and, more important, safeguards to protect first amendment rights.

It is very clear from the report that there was gross mismanagement of the exemption application process for these targeted groups.

In fact, the committee agrees that, at a minimum, there was heightened scrutiny of applications from certain organizations, and that this scrutiny resulted in significant delays in processing applications, which in some cases caused the applicants to cease operation.

The committee also found, by bipartisan agreement, that the agency functioned in a politicized environment and that this environment allowed for the improper processing of applications from targeted organizations.

The agency looks to have dropped any pretense of impartial tax enforcement, actively worked against conservative groups, and coordinated with the White House and other federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Federal Elections Commission, to suppress electoral activities of groups whose views do not coincide with those of the White House.

In my reading of the factual information presented in the report, there was systematic suppression of the free speech rights of these organizations, which is sadly ongoing.

The end result has been an egregious loss of faith in the agency – This is an abhorrent situation, compounded by the agency’s half-hearted efforts to locate and preserve records relevant to the committee’s investigation.

In fact, the IRS saw fit to mislead the committee about the existence of backup data, and sat on the information about computer crashes and lost backup tapes for weeks.

Mr. Koskinen, you have been instrumental in this decay of the reputation and standing of the IRS. You bear a direct responsibility, particularly in your less-than cooperative approach in responding to the oversight requests of this committee.

Now, to be fair, I know that you have taken a number of steps to address some the issues and recommendations identified in our report. These appear process-oriented, and very technical. AT least we have this.

But – without question – there is much more we can do. There are some very common-sense structural changes we should consider – Chairman Hatch has given is a full prescription.

We also have a number of other sound ideas that have been offered by committee members, including legislation by Senator Coats to provide a legal right of action when C-4 applications are delayed; Senator Grassley and Portman’s taxpayer bill of rights; Senator Portman on gifts to C-4s; Senator Cornyn’s small business protection proposal; and my legislation with Senator Flake to put a stop to further action on the C-4 regulation re-write.

These are all good first steps in re-orienting the IRS away from a political posture. I look forward to working with my colleagues to move these bills through the committee as expeditiously as possible.

Mr. Koskinen, given that American citizens were targeted for extra scrutiny in the exemption application process, thereby denying them the First Amendment rights – a tactic comparable to what is seen in a totalitarian country – take your pick, has anyone involved in this been fired, fined, reprimanded, denied a bonus, slapped on the wrist, or even received a stern “talk to”?

Senator Roberts has been an outspoken critic of the IRS. Earlier this year, Roberts took aim at the scandal-ridden IRS by introducing a bicameral bill with Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).  The Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act would stop cold further attempts by IRS to exploit bureaucratic loopholes to restrict the free speech rights of the same types of tax-exempt social welfare organizations victimized in the IRS political targeting scandal.

Senator Roberts also introduced the “Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act” to require federal employees to be current on their federal income taxes, and would prevent federal personnel who are delinquent in paying a federal tax liability from receiving a bonus or cash award. Exceptions are made for tax debt being paid pursuant to an agreement with the IRS and for certain hardships. According to the Inspector General, close to $3 million was awarded to IRS staff with violations on their records, with about half of that amount going to people with tax violations on their record.

# # #