John,

In recent years, we’ve seen an alarming pattern of
right-wing political groups self-identifying as “churches” to
take advantage of special tax rules that shield their activities
from public scrutiny and disclosure. It’s cynical, corrupt, and
it’s a growing problem.

This month, I led several members of Congress in calling
on the IRS to investigate these fake-church scams – in
particular, the Family Research Council (FRC) which has been a
driving force behind Republican efforts to ban abortion including
the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The FRC describes itself as a political advocacy
organization dedicated to informing “the news media, the academic
community, business leaders, and the general public about family
issues that affect the nation from a biblical worldview.” FRC is
known for aggressively pushing its anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ
political agenda.

Now, FRC is also known as a church – even though it’s
clearly not one.

That’s because the IRS has been so worn-down by
Republican attacks that it perfunctorily approves absurd schemes
by rightwing political groups who want to hide behind “church”
status. Religious freedom is a foundational constitutional right
and deeply held American value, but the functioning of our
democratic republic also depends on the integrity and fair
application of our tax laws. We need an IRS that’s not afraid to
do its job regardless of rightwing intimidation.

There’s too much dark money in politics already.
Allowing blatantly political groups to avoid public disclosures
and scrutiny by masquerading as churches will make it even worse.

The IRS must re-examine the FRC’s purported “church”
status and review its own process for deciding on church status
applications. This is the least the IRS can do to prevent
further exploitation of the tax code and to help restore public
confidence in our institutions.

John, add your name to join me
in this work to support public accountability.
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Thanks for standing up for democracy.

Jared

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Congressman Jared Huffman represents California's 2nd
District, which spans from the Golden Gate Bridge north to the
Oregon border. As a Democratic leader, Jared is committed to
protecting our environment, fighting for access to affordable
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