USA Today - Democratic Congressman Sues IRS Over Political Rules
By Gregory Korte, USATODAY.com
A Democratic congressman filed suit against the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday, seeking to overturn a 54-year-old rule that allows social welfare groups to engage in political activity.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., seeks to force the IRS to draft new rules requiring that the tax-exempt 501(c)(4) groups comply with the section of the Internal Revenue Code for which they're named. That section requires such groups to be "operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare.". . .
The American Center for Law and Justice, which represents 41 Tea Party groups suing the IRS over alleged political targeting, said the action Van Hollen seeks to force would "raise serious First Amendment issues."
"Political speech is protected by the First Amendment," chief counsel Jay Sekulow said. "Anonymous pamphleteering is as old as our country, and deserves just as much constitutional protection.". . .