On Jan. 27, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People declined to respond to a summons from the Internal Revenue Service in an audit based on charges of illegal partisan activity. The NAACP said the IRS did not follow proper procedures and the agency’s actions are politically motivated. The IRS denied its motives are political and referred the allegation to the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration. The audit is unusual because it is based on NAACP Chairman Julian Bond’s July 2004 convention speech that criticized Bush administration policies.

The Justice Department has informed the People for the American Way (PFAW) that responding to the group’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all records related to the decision to seal the records of immigrants detained in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks will cost nearly $400,000. The unusually large price tag appears to be the agency’s latest move in an ongoing struggle to withhold the information.

The Senate Republican Policy Committee (RPC) appears to be preparing for a battle over the Data Quality Act (DQA), as it recently released a very slanted background document that praises the law’s benefits and attempts to bolster its legitimacy.

When President Bush addressed Congress and the nation on the evening of Feb. 2, he devoted much of his address to his proposed changes to Social Security, yet declined to provide the American people with details regarding exactly which reforms he plans to pursue. Many believe this strategy is to avoid what President Clinton faced when he tried to reform health care a decade ago. Clinton had submitted a heavily detailed proposal to members of Congress, who were then able to pick it apart and subsequently defeat it.