WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP, abc24.com) - Tennessee senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker are among 12 Republican senators who are questioning whether the Obama administration is using the Internal Revenue Service to target Tea-party related nonprofit organizations.
The 12 senators sent a letter Wednesday to IRS commissioner Douglas Schulman seeking assurances that the agency's recent string of inquiries into some Tea Party-affiliated nonprofits is not based on politics.
The letter says the senators have received complaints of excessive IRS inquiries from Tea Party organizations in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Texas.
Alexander said the government should not have what amounts to an "enemies list."
A spokesman for the IRS did not immediately return a phone call.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul, both of Kentucky, were among the 12 who signed the letter.
