Dem Senators Call For Investigation Related To Citizens United

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WASHINGTON -- Seven Democratic senators sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calling for an investigation into social welfare nonprofits that spend large amounts on direct political advertising.

The letter came amid rising concerns that nonprofit groups are acting primarily as political vehicles after the Supreme Court's January 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) allowed them to spend money on express advocacy of candidates, which was previously banned.

Because of their nonprofit status, these groups do not have to disclose donors, making them appealing vehicles for secret political donations in recent years. Social welfare nonprofits, organized under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, have tax-exempt status as long as their primary purpose is social welfare causes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/political-nonprofits-democrats-ir_n_1282662.html

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1. 'The seven senators

signing the letter include Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Nonprofit political spending has increasingly been in the spotlight as more groups form and increase their political activity. Much of the growth has come from the burgeoning field of conservative social welfare groups that spend large sums on both express advocacy and issue ads.'

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2. K&R