To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status of certain organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5419) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status of certain organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Tonight I rise in strong support of H.R. 5419. This bill which I introduced requires the IRS to grant the same fair and unbiased appeal process to groups applying for tax-exempt status as it grants to other taxpayers.

During the investigation, we found that groups were being denied their ability to appeal denials of tax-exempt applications due to an unfair administrative practice at the IRS. This puts too much decisionmaking power in the hands of Washington bureaucrats, the same people we now know were depriving certain conservative groups of their right to operate as tax-exempt groups. This bill fixes that and provides equal rights to appeal for all tax-exempt applicants.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is, again, commonsense legislation that is needed. It is a necessary reform which came out in the investigation that we have done so far.

I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Under current law, tax-exempt organizations are not able to request an administrative appeal of their initial classification of tax-exempt status. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status of certain organizations.

I might add, this would apply to all, whatever their political leanings, provided they meet the requirements of the statute. So this would apply to liberal as well as conservative organizations that were subject to the inappropriate standards used by the IRS.

In 2012, the IRS received 51,748 applications for 501(c)(3) status and 2,774 applications for (c)(4) status.

In each case, less than three-tenths of 1 percent were denied. In 2013, two-tenths of 1 percent of all 501(c)(3) applications and 501(c)(4) applications were denied.

I support this legislation, and urge all of my colleagues to do so.

I yield back the balance of my time.