luetkemeyer.house.gov
Washington,
September 18, 2014
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Following up on his commitment to investigate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in regards to the Humane Society of the United States’ (HSUS) tax-exempt status, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) sent another letter to the agency after obtaining internal IRS communications that his requests were not taken seriously. Earlier this year, Luetkemeyer received internal IRS communications between Lois Lerner and her staff that shows his initial requests was not taken seriously and was never referred for investigation. “I will not allow the IRS to simply blow off my inquiries and this type of conduct will not be tolerated. Taxpayers across the nation deserve answers to their questions about the political motivations of the IRS and HSUS and it is my job as a member of Congress to follow-up on these requests,” Luetkemeyer said. “I will not allow this stonewalling to happen and I will continue to press these agencies for answers into an investigation that has now been going on for years.” Over the past few years, Luetkemeyer has sent several letters to the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and last year TIGTA committed to review the IRS’s conduct with this matter. However, more than a year has passed and Luetkemeyer has yet to receive any report of the results from this review. In 2010, constituents in Luetkemeyer’s district prompted him to request an IRS investigation into HSUS’s tax-exempt status based in large part of the organization’s involvement in political and lobbying activities. Since Luetkemeyer’s initial requests, no progress seems to have been made.