On the recordApril 15, 2015
You are noticing a theme here, and that is intimidation and impunity. That is a bad combination when a culture of impunity develops and an agency says: We can do what we want, when we want, and how we want to; and we can intimidate who we want, how we want, and when we want to. Said another way, here is what the IRS did: the IRS broke the law, and then they used the law to conceal it. They broke the law, and they used the law. That is a manipulation. That is a manipulation that no side of this Congress is going to stand for. That is a manipulation that has to be answered. That is a manipulation that has to be put down, that we cannot be complicit with. You cannot break the law and then use the law to conceal it. That is exactly what happened in this case. In other words, the IRS releases this information in violation of the law; and then, when they are asked about it, they say: Well, we would just love to tell you about it, but it is against the law for us to tell you about it. That is ridiculous. That is so jarring that now we have had a situation and we have had a culture that has developed over a period of time at the Internal Revenue Service where breaking the law and using the law to conceal it is considered what? It is considered normal. I am proud of the House today because the sensibilities of the House of Representatives is to say that is not normal, that is not acceptable, that is not right, and that will not be tolerated.
