I.R.S. Spent $4.1 Million on Conference, Audit Finds
Source: new york times
The Internal Revenue Service spent $4.1 million on a single conference in Southern California in 2010, paying top dollar for hotel rooms, $27,500 for a keynote speaker and tens of thousands of dollars for gifts to the 2,600 people who attended, according to a newly released Treasury Department audit.
But the audit also shows that such expenditures fell sharply when the Obama White House clamped down on travel and conferences as budgets tightened and a scandal erupted over how much the General Services Administration had spent on conferences. I.R.S. spending on such meetings fell to $4.8 million in the 2012 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, from $37.5 million in fiscal 2010.
The audit, conducted by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, has given Republicans a new reason to be outraged at the nation’s tax-collecting agency, which is already under fire for targeting conservative groups for special scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status.
The House Ways and Means Committee opened hearings on Tuesday to take testimony from members of the Tea Party and other conservative groups that say they were mistreated by the I.R.S.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/us/politics/irs-spent-4-1-million-on-a-single-conference-audit-finds.html
On 5/27 the Times reported possible IRS law violations by the Wetumpka Tea Party, Gerritson's organization:
Becky Gerritson, Wetumpka’s president, said in an e-mailed statement that her group engaged “mostly in education on all sorts of topics” and that the day of training was just one of a variety of events that it held for “educational purposes.”
This article mixes both the hearing and report together.
Becky Gerritson, president of the Wetumpka Tea Party in Alabama, grew emotional as she recounted poor treatment at the hands of I.R.S. officials who reviewed her application for tax-exempt status.
“I’m not interested in scoring political points,” she said. “I want to protect and preserve the America that I grew up in, the America that people cross oceans and risk their lives to become a part of. And I’m terrified it is slipping away.”
Committee Republicans — and a vocal contingent of supporters in the audience — cheered on the witnesses, but some committee Democrats let their patience slip.
“None of your organizations were kept from organizing or silenced,” said Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington. “We are talking about whether or not the American taxpayers will subsidize your work. We’re talking about a tax break. If you didn’t come in and ask for this tax break, you would have never had a question asked of you.”
Bloomberg also reported on the NOM chair testimony:
“You can imagine our shock and disgust over this,” he said. He said he has been “stonewalled” in attempts to get information from the IRS or its inspector general about the document release. Eastman’s group opposes same-sex marriage.
When the scandal first broke, Thom Hartmann invited some Tea Party activists on his show and explain WHAT kind of social welfare that TP groups provide. None could give a definitive answer. For example, Judson Phillips on May 20:
= new reply since forum marked as read
'some committee Democrats let their patience slip.
“None of your organizations were kept from organizing or silenced,” said Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington. “We are talking about whether or not the American taxpayers will subsidize your work. We’re talking about a tax break. If you didn’t come in and ask for this tax break, you would have never had a question asked of you.”'
Kept hearing today that woman complaining about her/their treatment. 
