Fitzapatrick: The IRS Shouldn't Be Playing Politics

Statement

"I was shocked to hear of the IRS targeting of law-abiding Americans simply because of their beliefs.

Fairness is neither partisan, nor political. This morning I helped to introduce the Taxpayer Nondiscrimination and Protection Act of 2013. This legislation increases the penalties for IRS employees who discriminate against a group or individual based on protected statuses. It also expressly states that political speech and expression are protected statuses and protect all political speech-- not just that of conservative groups.

This legislation is important in the wake of new information that shows that high ranking IRS officials knew about the inappropriate targeting of conservative groups in mid-2010 -- nearly a year before then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told a Congressional Committee the agency was not targeting conservative groups.

Just as troubling is the fact that the President told Americans today that he just learned of the IRS targeting through media reports last Friday. How is it possible that the President only learned of this two days ago?

It is critical to learn what everybody in the Administration knew and when they knew it-- that's why I'm calling on the White House to assist in the investigation immediately.

If you feel your group has been unfairly targeted, please don't hesitate to contact my office for assistance."

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