Washington D.C.'s controversial "C Street House" – which lost part of its tax-exempt status last year – is the subject of a new round of complaints filed by a group of clergy and a government watchdog in the last week.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington – CREW for short – cites news reports that say House members and some senators have paid below-market rents to live in a house on C Street SE that is owned by a Christian prayer group known as the Fellowship. CREW wants the House and Senate ethics committees to determine whether the monthly rent, reported to be around $950, is below the market value. If so, CREW says, the discount could amount to an illegal gift.
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Earlier this week another group called Clergy VOICE asked the IRS to investigate the tax implications of accepting lodging at the C Street house.
You can read the CREW complaint here. Clergy Voice's complaint is here. And a compelling commentary on the situation ran in Sunday's Columbus Dispatch by columnist Joe Hallett.
