By GOPUSA Staff June 4, 2013 12:25 pm
Leaders of conservative groups complained to Congress on Tuesday that they were abused by the Internal Revenue Service for years as they sought tax-exempt status, including questions one Iowa anti-abortion group said it got about prayer meetings.
The testimony of the tea party and other conservative organizations before the House Ways and Means Committee was the first time groups complaining about the IRS’s treatment have appeared directly before lawmakers since the IRS revealed the problem – and apologized for it – last month. They talked about applications for tax-exempt status that took three years for approval – or in some cases haven’t yet been approved – and queries from the agency about the identity of their donors, video of meetings and whether speakers at such gatherings expressed political views.
“I’m a born-free American woman,” Becky Gerritson, president of the Wetumpka Tea Party in Alabama, tearfully told the committee, adding, “I’m telling my government, you’ve forgotten your place.”
Sue Martinek, president of the Coalition for Life of Iowa, an anti-abortion group, said the IRS asked them about “the content of our prayers.”
“As Christians, we know we needed to pray for better solutions for unplanned pregnancies,” she said. (Read More)
