Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) spearheaded a letter on Thursday to Daniel Werfe, commissioner of the IRS, about an “insufficient and insulting” response to an inquiry to review the legal compliance of nonprofit charities that support demonstrations opposing the Jewish state.
Co-signatories included Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Marsha Blackburn, (R-Tenn.). They began by blasting the response to their previous inquiry, taking offense to being told to contact a helpline.
“If the IRS policy is to direct United States senators to publicly accessible toll-free numbers and email inboxes, the funds Congress appropriates to the IRS Office of Legislative Affairs each year is clearly being wasted and in need of reprogramming,” the senators wrote.
Two groups the senators noted as involved with anti-Israel protests were Students for Justice in Palestine and Alliance for Global Justice.
“An entity’s tax-exempt status is a privilege, and it is your responsibility to ensure only those who abide by tax laws are granted this privilege,” the senators wrote.
The letter concluded with the lawmakers listing requests for information such as the number of recent investigations since Oct. 7 of organizations involved in protests and when an update will come of the newest groups to have lost their nonprofit status.