on this so-called IRS "scandal" regarding the tax exempt status of these "social welfare" groups that are really just political organizations that want to hide their donor list.
Had Schumer been watching O'Donnell's show, he'd already know that the law on the books says that 501(c)(4) groups are supposed to be operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare. We don't need a new law allowing them to have 10 percent of their activities involved in politicking as Schumer suggested on this Sunday's Meet the Press. We need to ask the IRS to start following the law as it is written already.
GREGORY: You lobbied the IRS to look into these groups. You didn't specify conservative groups, but there are those on the right who say that you and others effectively did, that you were really targeting conservative groups not to be given that tax exempt status.
SCHUMER: No, that's absolutely not true. First our letter came a year and a half after they started targeting the tea party, so it couldn't have caused it. That's for sure. But second, look at what our letter said. It says form a bright line and determine how much political activity a so-called social welfare organization can do before they lose their tax exempt status.
Our letter is actually the solution. I would propose that we say, we pass legislation that more than 10 percent, if more than 10 percent of your activity is political activity, you lose your tax exemption. And if you had a bright line, it wouldn't be up to some bureaucrat to make their own determination, perhaps wrongly based on political leans. It would be the same standard for all groups, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican.
That's what we need and our letter is actually the solution to the problem.