A group of Congress members recently urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commissioner of Internal Revenue Charles Rettig to reverse Trump administration rules that ended disclosure requirements for tax-exempt groups engaged in political activity.
The lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to ensure that the IRS can enforce the law and prevent foreign money from influencing elections.
“Eliminating the requirement that tax-exempt groups disclose basic information about the source of their contributions undercuts efforts to enforce prohibitions against foreign spending in U.S. elections and detect other illegal activity. It also undermines the ability of the U.S. government to police the wave of “dark money” that has flooded our political system in the decade since the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. According to a study by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, dark money groups have spent over $1 billion to influence U.S. elections since 2008,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Yellen and Rettig.
The letter was signed by 28 members of Congress, including Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Peter Welch (D-VT), David Cicilline (D-RI), and Jason Crow (D-CO),
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“Reinstating this rule is a critical step in preventing special interests and foreign actors from exploiting loopholes at the expense of the American people. We strongly urge you to reconsider the prior administration’s decision and reinstate the requirement that certain tax-exempt organizations engaged in political activity disclose information about their major donors to the IRS,” they added.
A similar letter was sent last month by 38 Senators, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).