Tables turn on IRS, lawmakers grill agency at heated hearing

By: American Decency Staff

For the first time in years, the IRS was knocked down a peg or two. 

In a hearing that escalated into a boisterous public shaming of one of the country's most-feared government agencies, lawmakers took turns Friday calling outgoing IRS Commissioner Steven Miller on the carpet for his department's scandalous practice of targeting conservative groups. 

And they vowed that the tense hearing would mark only the start of a series of investigations, in which criminal activity could be probed. 

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., seemed to capture the angst against the agency toward the end of the hours-long hearing, as he described the ways its agents are capable of ruining lives. 

"You can put anybody out of business that you want. … When the IRS comes in there, you're not allowed to be shoddy," he said, suggesting the agency's leadership was being held to a different standard now that it is coming under scrutiny. 

"This is absolutely an overreach, and this is an outrage for all Americans," he said. 

When he finished, the committee room erupted in cheers and applause that lasted several seconds. 

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