This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the IRS’ scrutiny of conservative groups went beyond those with “tea party” or “patriot” in their names to also include ones worried about government spending, debt or taxes, and even ones that lobbied to “make America a better place to live.” Many groups say they were asked for lists of their donors and other sensitive information. These actions by the IRS are extremely troubling.
Also of great concern is that under Obamacare, the IRS will have even more control over the lives of every American. This is just one more reason why I voted again this week to repeal the government takeover of our healthcare system. In this newsletter you will find my full statement on the recent revelations about the IRS and my vote to repeal Obamacare.
You can find more information about these and other issues on my website at www.ellmers.house.gov and on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
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An Attack on our Fundamental Rights
The Wall Street Journal reported the following this week on the IRS scandal:
The inspector general’s office has been conducting an audit of the IRS’s handling of the applications process and is expected to release a report this week. The audit follows complaints last year by numerous tea-party and other conservative groups that they had been singled out and subjected to excessive and inappropriate questioning. Many groups say they were asked for lists of their donors and other sensitive information.
According to the report, by June 2011 some IRS specialists were probing applications using the following criteria: “issues include government spending, government debt or taxes; education of the public by advocacy/lobbying to ‘make America a better place to live’; statements in the case file criticize how the country is being run.”
The reports of the Obama administration’s actions this week are deeply disturbing and strike at the core of our liberties and basic protections under the Constitution. As Americans, we expect our government to preserve, protect, and defend our rights – not target them for political gain and control. These reports cast a dark shadow on this administration and are completely unacceptable, not to mention dangerous. President Obama must act immediately to bring those accountable to justice and not stand in the way of the truth. Americans deserve a full account of what has transpired.
Repealing Obamacare
Yesterday, I voted in favor of H.R. 45 – a bill I cosponsored to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Here is the statement I released shortly after casting my vote:
“This afternoon, I was proud to vote once again for the full repeal of Obamacare. Each day we receive new evidence showing that the Affordable Care Act will be anything but affordable. According to a new report by the Energy and Commerce Committee, 17 major insurance companies said healthcare for young adults will rise by 400 percent and employers can expect their cost to go up by about 50 to 100 percent. In North Carolina, our largest health insurer recently announced that a third of their customers should ‘prepare for unusually large rate increases.'”
“People want more choice, and less federal mandates in their healthcare decisions. We must stop this law from inflicting enormous damage on our economy and start over with real reforms that will not raise premiums and cost our nation millions of jobs.”