Maureen Groppe, reporting for the Indianapolis Star, has an article on a complaint to the IRS from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). CREW wants the IRS “to investigate whether the foundation violated federal tax law by “failing to operate for its stated public purpose of helping needy students and by doing little more than paying for the congressman to play golf with donors with interests before his committee.”” (More on Buyer and the Frontier Foundation.)
CREW has also asked the Office of Congressional Ethics “to review whether Buyer violated ethics rules “by abusing a charity for private purposes and by trading legislative assistance for donations to the charity and a job for his son.””
Buyer created the Frontier foundation in 2003 for the stated purposed of handing out scholarships once the fund reached $100,000. The foundation has raised more than $880,000 — primarily from companies and trade organizations with an interest in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on which Buyer serves.
The foundation hasn’t awarded any scholarships, which Buyer has said is because the foundation later decided it needed at least $1 million to be self-sustaining. The foundation has paid for fundraising golf outings at luxury locales.
(Buyer has offered the defense that these golf outings “weren’t fun” for him.)
CREW press release and links here.
My favorite Buyer video here:
Update TPM Muckraker’s Justin Elliott continues his excellent coverage of this matter.
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