ATLANTA, Ga – Tea Party Patriots CEO and co-founder Jenny Beth Martin released the following statement today after the House voted to pass HR 5053, the ‘Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act’ introduced by Congressman Roskam (R-IL).

“Today, the U.S. House of Representatives took a huge step toward preventing future abuses from an out-of-control IRS by passing Rep. Roskam’s ‘Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act.’ In an era where President Obama’s IRS has been unleashed to target Americans for their political beliefs, passing this bill into law would be a huge win for the First Amendment. It would protect the identities of donors to charitable organizations from the IRS, eliminating one way the IRS could target and persecute Americans for their political beliefs. In our republic, it is the government that needs to be transparent about the ways it exercises its enormous power, and the American people are guaranteed privacy and the freedom to associate in the Bill of Rights. On behalf of our over two-million supporters I want to sincerely thank the House of Representatives for taking action on this important issue to help protect and expand the First Amendment and I call on the U.S. Senate to join the House in passing this bill so it can be sent to the President’s desk as soon as possible.”

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