"Through their illegal and unconstitutional acts for all intents and purposes these IRS employees stole from the targeted organizations, and what the government stole it must return and make the parties whole." -- Excerpt from conservative leaders' letter to the House and Senate Republican Conferences

Contact: Bob Sturm, 703-392-7676, ext 1144; Kassandra Smith, 703-392-7676, ext 1123

MANASSAS, Va., May 22, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- A group of leading conservatives has today released a letter (bit.ly/18irmV7) to the House and Senate Republican leadership, and their Republican Conferences, demanding that legislation be passed to make whole those that were targeted for political discrimination by the Obama administration's IRS.

In transmitting the letter to Congress the group noted that, "Many organizations incurred tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal and tax preparation fees pursuing their not-for-profit tax exemption. Others simply gave up and folded their organizations in the face of the daunting financial burden, intimidation and bullying at the hands of Obama's IRS bureaucrats."

"There is ample precedent for awarding them monetary damages for the discrimination they suffered at the hands of government employees."

In their letter to Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the members of the House and Senate Republican Conferences, the signatories on the letter urge Republicans to promptly draft legislation and hold the hearings necessary to pass a bill that will authorize the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the targets of IRS political discrimination, and that will specifically authorize those targeted organizations and individuals to seek monetary damages for injuries they suffered as a result of IRS political targeting and discrimination.

The leaders of the group noted that the oversight hearings planned and the bills introduced so far to increase the penalties for the illegal acts perpetrated by government employees at the IRS have a glaring deficiency; none of them will make whole those organizations and individuals who suffered discrimination or who were politically targeted by the Obama administration's IRS.

In addition to Viguerie, more than twenty conservative leaders signed the letter including:

Gary Bauer, President, American Values
David N. Bossie, President, Citizens United
Brent Bozell, President, Media Research Center
James C. Dobson, Ph.D., Founder and President, Family Talk and Family Talk Action
Elaine Donnelly, President, Center for Military Readiness
Andrea Lafferty, President, Traditional Values Coalition
Ralph Reed, Chairman, Faith and Freedom Coalition
Phyllis Schlafly, President, Eagle Forum
Craig Shirley, Reagan Biographer

For a complete list of signatories, visit bit.ly/18iwKYs.

"The political discrimination by the IRS appears to have gone well beyond the Tea Party to include conservative organizations in general, 'patriot' and right-to-life organizations, Christian ministries, pro-Israel Jewish groups and other opponents of President Obama's policies," concluded members of the conservative leadership group. "Political discrimination in the assessment of taxes or the granting of exemptions, or any other government service cannot be tolerated, and if such discrimination is proven, the victims must be made whole."

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called "one of the creators of the modern conservative movement" (The Nation) and one of the "conservatives of the century" (Washington Times). He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause and the forthcoming book, Takeover.