Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/272815
A\er Lerner again refuses to talk, Cummings says he was never given the chance By Josh Hicks The Washington Post WASHINGTON » A long-sim- mering battle over whether the Internal Revenue Ser- vice targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny with political intentions has heated up again in Congress. A House hearing erupted into shouts of frustration and recrimination Wednes - day morning in a scene rem- iniscent of the early days of the probe into the IRS activ- ities. There again was Lois Le- rner, the former IRS offi- cial who last year invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, declining once more to tes - tify before the House Over- sight and Government Re- form Committee. On Wednesday, Lerner again invoked the Fifth Amendment, ending days of speculation over whether she would testify after being subpoenaed. The shouting began as a clearly frustrated Rep. Dar - rell Issa, R-Calif., the com- mittee chairman, adjourned the hearing and the equally annoyed ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, objected. "Mr. Chairman, you can - not run a committee like this," Cummings said. After his microphone was cut off, Cummings angrily shouted: "I am a member of the Congress of the United States of America. I am tired of this." He also described Issa's investigation into the IRS matter as "one-sided" and "absolutely un-American." "We had a hearing," Issa replied. "It was adjourned. I gave you an opportunity to ask your questions. You had no questions." And so it goes, a fight that for some observers feels never-ending, and makes the political battles over an alleged Benghazi coverup look tame by comparison. After lawmakers spent months last year lobbing charges and countercharges, the IRS controversy ap - peared to quiet down. But what, on some days, had seemed more like a polit- ical food fight than a focused bipartisan probe is blowing up again, this time with two pivotal factors looming. In addition to the ap - proaching midterm elec- tions, there is the contro- versy over a Treasur y Department proposal to re- strict the political activi- ties of nonprofit groups with 501 (c)(4) tax status, or so- called social welfare orga- nizations. Count on both of those dy- namics — not to mention any valid evidence that emerges on either side of the debate — to keep the IRS issue front and center. Social-welfare organiza - tions have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into election-related ads since the Supreme Court's 2010 Citi - zens United decision, which said the government cannot restrict independent politi- cal expenditures from cer- tain types of groups. The IRS has said its prob- lems partly stemmed from being overwhelmed by ap- plications from such groups and a lack of clarity on how to deal with them. Republicans, though they have not proven a politi- cal connection to the White House, believe the IRS scru- tiny was an attempt by the Obama administration to si- lence conservative critics. Democrats have said the problems were nothing more than hapless bureaucratic fumbling and missteps. They have also uncovered evidence that progressive groups were targeted for in - tense scrutiny. Now the Treasury's pro- posed rules have caused a firestorm of their own. The dra f t g uidelines would define a set of "cam - paign-related political ac- tivities" that could disqual- ify groups from tax-exempt status, but the draft rules place voter-registration and get-out-the-vote efforts into that category. WASHINGTON Fight escalates over alleged IRS targeting lauren victoria burke — the associated press house oversight and Government reform committee chairman rep. darrell issa, r-calif., right, leaves as rep. elijah cummings, d-Md., le, begins his statement. By Michael Virtanen The Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. » Under pres- sure from gun control ad- vocates, Facebook agreed Wednesday to delete posts from users seeking to buy or sell weapons illegally or without a background check. A similar policy will be ap - plied to Instagram, the com- pany's photo-sharing net- work, Facebook said. The measures will be put into ef- fect over the next few weeks at the world's largest social network, with 1.3 billion ac- tive users. "We will remove reported posts that explicitly indicate a specific attempt to evade or help others evade the law," the company said in a state - ment. The move reflects grow- ing alarm that the Internet is being used to sell banned weapons or put guns in the hands of convicted felons, domestic abusers, the men - tally ill or others barred un- der federal law from obtain- ing firearms. Gun control advocates say Facebook has become a significant mar- ketplace, with thousands of gun-related posts. Google Plus and Craig- slist already prohibit all gun sales, legal or illegal. Face- book said that instead of pa- trolling its network for vio- lators, it will rely on reports from users and police. The new policy was worked out in an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has been pressing the company along with May - ors Against Illegal Guns, a group backed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloom- berg, and Moms Demand Ac- tion. Moms Demand Action collected more than 230,000 signatures on petitions call- ing on Facebook to act. "Responsible social me- dia sites know that it is in no one's interest for their sites to become the 21st-century black market in dangerous and illegal goods that place our families and communities at risk," Schneiderman said. Chris Cox, executive direc - tor of the National Rifle As- sociation's legislative policy arm, portrayed the new pol- icy as a victory for the NRA, saying Bloomberg and those he supports tried — and failed — to shut down discussion of gun rights on Facebook. "NRA members and our supporters will continue to have a platform to exer - cise their First Amendment rights in support of their Second Amendment free- doms," Cox said. But Tom King, president of the NRA's New York af- filiate, warned that the pol- icy could be used to silence gun rights organizations on Facebook. "This is something that could greatly get out of con - trol very quickly," King said. Under the new policy, Facebook would allow a user to list an AR-15 as long as it wasn't offered for sale in states where the weapon is illegal. It will also remove any posts in which a gun seller offers to skip a background check, even if such checks aren't required in the sell - er's state. SOcIAL MedIA Fa ce bo ok t o de le te p os ts f or i ll eg al fi re ar m sa le s Oregon has spent $304 million but has yet to enroll a single person By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press The investigative arm of Congress on Wednesday agreed to look into prob- lems with state health ex- change websites around the country. The U.S. Government Accountability Office ac - cepted an initial request from a group of House Re- publicans seeking an au- dit on how $304 million in federal grants were spent on the Cover Oregon web- site, which has yet to enroll a single person online with- out special assistance. The agency said due to similar requests from sev- eral members of Congress and congressional com- mittees related to the roll- out of online health care ex- changes, it would broaden the investigation, and issue several separate reports on its findings. GAO spokesman Charles Young said just which states will be included with Oregon will be determined as the investigation goes forward. But 14 states and the Dis - trict of Columbia opted to create their own exchanges and accepted federal fund- ing to do so. Republicans have been stepping up their attacks on troubled health exchanges during this election year, but Rep. Greg. Walden, R- Ore., said it was a non-par - tisan issue. He noted Oregon Demo- crats Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley made their own requests for the GAO to investigate a day after Walden, House Com- mittee on Energy and Com- merce Chairman Fred Up- ton of Michigan and Reps. Joe Pitts and Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania filed theirs last month. "The politics will play out where they may, good or bad," Walden said. "That doesn't mean you don't ask questions. We need to get answers." He noted the probe of state websites would "pig - gyback nicely" on another GAO look at the federal health exchange website, which has already begun. Separately, Health and Human Services Secre - tary Kathleen Sebelius has asked for an inspector gen- eral's investigation into problems with the rollout of the health care law. Some of the state ex - changes have outperformed the federal exchange web- site, but others have trailed behind and faced signifi- cant challenges, including expensive fixes to glitches and lower projected enroll- ments. In addition to Oregon, where residents on their own still can't sign up for coverage in one sitting, the exchanges in Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Minnesota have faced ma - jor problems. Cover Oregon's online enrollment system was supposed to launch in Oc - tober, allowing individu- als and small businesses to compare insurance plans and qualify for federal tax credits to subsidize the premiums. It wasn't ready, however, forcing people to fill out a lengthy paper ap - plication that would have to be processed by hand. WASHINGTON U.S. agency to probe health exchanges JUST ADDED Youth under 12 $12 to run pre registration & $15 day of race Professional Personal Convenient • Premium Digital Hearing Aids for every budget • FREE hearing evaluations • Service/Repair, all makes and models • Batteries & accessories • Preferred provider for most insurance plans: Including PERS, Carpenters, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, etc. • Low monthly payment plan available • Trial Period/ Satisfaction Guaranteed Ask about our Open Fit Technology Discreet and Comfortable Limited Appointments CALL 1-800-488-9906 Performed for proper amplification selection only. Red Bluff Community Center 1500 So. Jackson Wed., March 12, 2014 10:00 am - 3:00 pm | NEWS | redbluFFdailYneWs.coM thursdaY, March 6, 2014 8 A