WASHINGTON, DC – At Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) questioned U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew regarding the Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) proposed regulations limiting the first amendment rights of Americans.

“Mr. Lew, one of the issues I am always asked about when I am home, is whether anyone will be punished for the scandals at the IRS. This illegal targeting gets right to the heart of our system of government – the Administration and the IRS must be held accountable for their actions and must never be permitted to trample on the Constitutional rights of our citizens.”

Senator Roberts and U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz) have introduced legislation with 40 cosponsors to stop proposed IRS regulations that codify targeting of 501c4 groups. Similar legislation was passed by the House last month.

Roberts pressed Secretary Lew on whether it was premature to propose rules on the targeting scandal when investigations were not complete.

The Flake Roberts bill would protect the free-speech rights of 501(c)(4) organizations by prohibiting for one year the finalization of the proposed rule.

Roberts went on to ask, “Why did the IRS limit the new rules to C-4s and not to apply them to similarly regulated not-for-profit organizations, such as unions?”

Secretary Lew responded that the agency was still reviewing the comments received during the comment period on the proposed regulation. He noted that it received over 100,000 comments.

Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance.