SILLY SENATOR. CONSEQUENCES ARE FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE. Hatch wonders about IRS discipline over political scrutiny.
The Senate’s top tax writer asked Tuesday why the IRS has cleared most employees referred for potential improper political scrutiny since the agency’s Tea Party controversy erupted in 2013.
Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) noted that Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration had referred 47 employees to the IRS in recent years for potentially breaking the rules for reviewing tax-exempt applications.
The inspector general sent those referrals when it thought an employee’s actions weren’t criminal, leaving any potential punishment up to the IRS.But of those 47 referrals, the IRS found that 20 employees had done nothing wrong, and another five resigned during their investigations.
The IRS found another eight employees could face disciplinary action for future conduct, after the agency found “no clear” evidence of misconduct. Eleven referrals are still pending, while the rest of the 47 are protected by privacy laws.
In a Tuesday letter, Hatch asked for more details about how the IRS investigates those referrals and about any role the National Treasury Employees Union plays in those inquiries.
All public employee unions should be banned. But the NTEU should be banned first.