During a Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said he will not issue regulations removing the tax-exempt status of religious universities and institutions for their belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked Koskinen, “Will you commit to me that as long as you remain on as the commissioner of the IRS, you will not, in the absence of a directive by Congress or by the courts, a subsequent directive, one not in place right now, that you will not take any action to remove the tax exempt status from religious colleges or universities based on their belief that the marriage is between a man and a woman?”
“...At this time, we see no basis for changing our examination criteria as a result of this Supreme Court case," Koskinen said during the hearing.
He assured that it will not happen within the next two-and-a-half years and if it does, a draft regulation would be issued for public comment so that the public has the opportunity to comment.
“There would be no surprises. We’re not sneaking up on anybody," Koskinen said.
"The public would have plenty of notice and plenty of opportunity to comment, and that's not going to happen in the next two and a half years."
Lee expressed dissatisfaction toward Koskinen’s answer because he included in his answer the phrase “at this time” and believed Koskinen was using it to not make any binding statements of the possibility that the IRS might take action in the future.
"When you say 'at this time,' is that meant to qualify or restrict your answer or are you saying there is no basis upon which you could revisit tax-exempt status?" asked Lee.
Koskinen answered saying that the IRS does not make public policy and that any decisions would be made through legislature or through the courts.
“We implement the laws as they stand," Koskinen assured. "All we do is follow whatever the public policy is that is set by other organizations… At this point other actions would have to take place before the IRS can consider issuing a regulation, which would give people notices to what we think the public policy was and then cases and exams would be conducted under that."
After the hearing, the Senator told reporters that he is still skeptical of the actions the IRS may take. “It worries me and it should worry every American that the IRS does not absolutely disavow the power to target religious institutions based on their religious beliefs, even if the current IRS commissioner has committed not to use that power for the time being.”
Lee introduced the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) last month, a bill that would keep federal agencies from discriminating against religious institutions for not compromising their beliefs on marriage.
