WASHINGTON (AP) — Internal Revenue Service officials can expect a grilling when they face lawmakers over the latest controversy to rock the agency: lavish spending at employee conferences.
The IRS is planning a robust defense at a congressional hearing Thursday.
The agency has already imposed strict regulations to prevent expensive conferences in the future. And on Wednesday, the new acting head of the agency placed two officials on administrative leave for accepting free food at a party in a private suite at an IRS conference in 2010.
Thursday's hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee comes as the IRS faces mounting criticism for lavish spending on employee conferences and for improperly targeting conservative political groups that applied for tax-exempt status.
