rssCampaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits Yourself
Wednesday, October 06, 2010 at 3:16 pm
- 39 Comments
Sen. Max Baucus’ (D-Mont.) letter requesting that the IRS investigate a number of Section 501 nonprofit organizations — accused of abusing their tax-exempt status by devoting the majority of their energies to election activities — is getting a lot of approval from campaign finance advocacy groups, but also a friendly suggestion: Just do it yourself!
That’s what the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) urged today in a letter to Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which CREW notes has the jurisdiction to hold hearings or launch its own independent investigation into such organizations.
The accompanying press release says, “No Need to Punt to the IRS,” and includes the following from the group’s director, Melanie Sloan:
“Senator Baucus has correctly identified the gaping hole in our tax code that allows these faux tax-exempt groups to circumvent the law thanks to the flawed Citizens United decision,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW Executive Director. “Yet, as Chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Baucus can do something about this. He does not need to punt the matter to the IRS; rather, the Finance Committee can and should immediately begin its own investigation. The committee has the jurisdiction and authority to subpoena witnesses and documents to get a handle on the extent of the abuse of the tax code and begin working towards a legislative solution.”
The letter submitted by CREW points out numerous instances in which the Senate Finance Committee has launched similar investigations in the past, including a thorough investigation into The Nature Conservancy’s non-cash charitable contributions in 2003. In recent years, the committee has also conducted investigations into groups affiliated with ACORN, the tax-exempt ministries of six televangelists, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and others.
Now that Congress is on recess, of course, there’s little chance that anything will happen before the midterm elections. But a slate of hearings during the lame duck session is entirely possible.
Follow Jesse Zwick on Twitter39 Comments
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 3:53 pm
[...] The rest is here: Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 3:56 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Max Baucus News and r3publican, WashIndependent. WashIndependent said: Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits Yourself http://bit.ly/bIZ1d2 [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 6:08 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits Yourself « The W… [...]
Trackback posted October 6, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This…
trackback >>The Moral Liberal: Defending the Judeo-Christian ethic, limited government, and the American constitution>>…
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 6:39 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 6:53 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 7:15 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits Yourself « Thе Washington… [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 7:26 pm
[...] More here: Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 8:00 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 8:04 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 8:06 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … Share and Enjoy: [...]
Pingback posted October 6, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
[...] Follow this link: Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 12:54 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits Yourself « The Washington Inde… [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 4:11 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 4:59 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Comment posted October 7, 2010 @ 5:20 am
The ugg types boots are your best choice in this cold winter.
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 8:20 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 10:02 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 2:08 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits Yourself « The Washington Inde… [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 2:57 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 6:56 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 7, 2010 @ 9:20 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 8, 2010 @ 12:14 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 8, 2010 @ 2:18 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 8, 2010 @ 3:17 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 8, 2010 @ 9:21 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted October 8, 2010 @ 1:24 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits Yourself « Thе Washington… [...]
Trackback posted October 10, 2010 @ 2:34 pm
Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits ……
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Trackback posted October 10, 2010 @ 3:22 pm
Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits ……
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Pingback posted November 5, 2010 @ 6:11 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits YourselfThe Washington IndependentThat's what the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) urged today in a letter to Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance …and more » [...]
Pingback posted December 10, 2010 @ 5:02 am
[...] View full post on The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted December 13, 2010 @ 11:54 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted December 13, 2010 @ 9:42 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted December 14, 2010 @ 11:00 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted December 15, 2010 @ 7:28 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted December 20, 2010 @ 8:40 pm
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
Pingback posted December 23, 2010 @ 8:31 am
[...] Campaign Finance Groups Petition Baucus: Investigate Nonprofits … [...]
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
