The IRS still has a lot of explaining to do

Late last week, the Ways and Means Committee – of which I’m a member – held a hearing on the IRS previous policy of targeting conservative groups for greater scrutiny, and the Acting Commissioner, Steve Miller, was called to testify. He will be stepping down from that position next month, and rightly so in my opinion.

I was appalled on several levels by what Mr. Miller had to say. Specifically, while he admitted the IRS had been targeting conservative groups, he was unable to explain why the targeting program was allowed to continue for two years.

Most disturbing is that Commissioner Miller admitted to me during questioning that he learned about the program in May, 2012, and he claimed at that he was “outraged” when he found out about it. However, in July of 2012 – less than three months later – when he was called to testify before Congress he made absolutely no mention of it. 

In fact, Mr. Miller specifically omitted any reference to it. That tells me that he either was not actually outraged or he was attempting to cover up the existence of the targeting operation when he testified before Congress after having learned of the targeting. 

The IRS never came forward with information about the targeting of conservative groups. It was only after the Inspector General in charge of the IRS case informed the agency that he had uncovered it that the IRS ever admitted it had done wrong. That is completely unacceptable.

I can assure you that Congress is not done with its own investigation this issue. There are many questions that remain unanswered. It appears there is also a more in-depth investigation underway by the Inspector General. My hope is that investigation will help yield some of the answers the IRS leadership can’t or won’t answer at the moment. 

Either way, Congress will continue to bring members of the IRS leadership – under subpoena if necessary – to explain to us and to the American people exactly how it happened and how it will never be allowed to happen again.

In other news, Congressman John Delaney – a Maryland Democrat – and I recently introduced the “Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education Improvement Act.” This bipartisan bill is designed to improve education and career training benefits for veterans.

America’s veterans have served their country honorably. They deserve our thanks and praise. However, they can also often use a helping hand in their transition back to civilian life. 

The Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education advises the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on improving veterans’ education and job training programs. The Committee is composed of veterans and experts in the fields of education, labor, and management, and includes veterans’ representatives from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, post-Vietnam, and the Gulf War.

Among other things, our bill will add representatives from the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars to the Committee. No one knows what our returning troops need better than the men and women who served alongside them. Congressman Delaney and I are proud to lead this bipartisan effort to provide them with crucial services that will help them with the next steps of their careers.

Please feel free to share your thoughts with me by following me on Facebook facebook.com/repjimrenacci and Twitter @RepJimRenacci. If you have questions or comments regarding my work in Congress, please do not hesitate to contact my Wadsworth office at (330) 334-0040 or my Washington office at (202) 225-3876.