WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration Tuesdaylaunched a bid to rein in the use of tax-exempt
groups for politicalcampaigning.The effort is an attempt to reduce the role ofloosely regulated big-money
political outfits like GOP political guruKarl Rove’s Crossroads GPS and the pro-Obama Priorities
USA.TheInternal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department said they want toprohibit such groups from using
"candidate-related political activity"like running ads, registering voters or distributing
campaign literatureas activities that qualify them to be tax-exempt "social
welfare"organizations.The agencies say there will be a lengthy commentperiod before any regulations
will be finalized. That means groups likeCrossroads and Priorities USA will be able to collect millions
ofdollars from anonymous donors ahead of next year’s campaign."Thisproposed guidance is a first
critical step toward creating clear-cutdefinitions of political activity by tax-exempt social
welfareorganizations," said Mark Mazur, treasury assistant secretary for taxpolicy. "We are
committed to getting this right before issuing finalguidance that may affect a broad group of organizations.
It will taketime to work through the regulatory process and carefully consider allpublic feedback as we
strive to ensure that the standards fortax-exemption are clear and can be applied
consistently."Organizedunder section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, such groups are able to raisemillions
of dollars to influence elections. But they can also besmall-scale tea party groups, many of which say they
were harassed bythe IRS after seeking tax exempt status.House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp,
R-Mich., was skeptical of the administration’s move."Therecontinues to be an ongoing investigation,
with many documents yet to beuncovered, into how the IRS systematically targeted and
abusedconservative-leaning groups," he said. "This smacks of theadministration trying to shut down
potential critics."The 2010Citizens United Supreme Court decision lifted the limits on donations
bylabor unions and companies to 501(c)(4) groups, allowing Crossroads,the largest of them, to raise large
sums outside the limits that applyto candidates’ campaigns and traditional party
committees."Enormousabuses have taken place under the current rules, which have allowedgroups largely
devoted to campaign activities to operate as nonprofitgroups in order to keep secret the donors funding
their campaignactivities," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, whichadvocates limits on
money in politics.Under current rules, socialwelfare organizations may conduct some political work as long
as it’snot their main activity. The proposed new rules would block such thingsas running ads that
"expressly advocate for a clearly identifiedpolitical candidate or candidates of a political
party" as fulfillingtheir tax-exempt mission. And ads that simply mention a politician to,for instance,
urge him or her to vote a certain way couldn’t be run 60days before a general election of 30 days before a
primary.The rules also would limit voter drives and voter registration efforts and distribution of
literature.Theidea behind the new regulations is to simplify the rules of the roadgoing forward, proponents
say. The current rules are confusing and proneto abuse, critics say.Treasury and the IRS don’t have a
proposalyet about what proportion of a 501(c)(4) group’s activities mustpromote social welfare and are
soliciting input. In other words, theydon’t have a recommendation as to what percentage of a group’s time
andmoney can be spent on politics.Some of the outside groups thatcould be affected by the proposal,
including Crossroads GPS andPriorities USA, did not have any initial reaction to the announcement.The groups
are expected to weigh in on the rulemaking as it proceeds.Anychanges to the regulations likely would not
affect the 2014 electionsbecause of legal challenges but the rule changes could shape the nextpresidential
election, said Kenneth Gross, a campaign finance attorneyand former head of enforcement for the Federal
Election Commission."Brighteningwhat are now blurred lines — what is political activity — is not
onlyuseful but necessary to have some kind of clarity to a vehicle that hasbeen used to the tune of millions
and millions of dollars," he said.But Gross cautioned that "this is a long and winding road before
anything is in ink."___Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.Copyright 2013 The
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