8/17/2019 AC Supports H.R. 5053

1/1

 

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW #190-406 | Washington, DC 20004 | (202) 656-2193

April 27, 2016

The Honorable Peter Roskam

Chairman

Subcommittee on Oversight

House Ways and Means Committee

Dear Chairman Roskam:

On behalf of more than one million American Commitment activists, I’m writing to strongly support H.R.

5053, the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act, and thank you for sponsoring this critical

legislation.

H.R. 5053 would prohibit the IRS from requiring exempt organizations to file a Schedule B, which includes

donor names, with the IRS as part of the annual form 990.

The information contained on these forms has been negligently and possibly willfully misused to subject

members of conservative groups to inappropriate retaliation, and the IRS itself has proposed ending the

requirement because it advances no legitimate compliance objective.

As long as the IRS collects donor lists via the Schedule B, there will continue to be a serious risk of

unauthorized use by the IRS, subjecting individuals to ideologically motivated scrutiny in retaliation for their

contributions. There will also be additional breaches of confidentiality.

Moreover, as long as the IRS collects this information, state government officials will seek to do so as well,

with even greater risk of official retaliation or negligent handling of confidential data.

Put simply, the Schedule B requirement is an increasingly grave threat to the First Amendment.

Since NAACP v. Alabama it has been well established that freedom of speech and association are

threatened by government compelling private organizations to produce their membership lists. It’s past

time for the IRS to stop doing so, and we therefore strongly support H.R. 5053 and urge its passage.

Yours truly,

Phil Kerpen

President, American Commitment