Monday is the deadline for filing income tax returns or extensions.
With that news peg in mind, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) throw a press conference on Monday morning to promote legislation they authored to curb the ability of the IRS to sell personal information gleaned from tax returns to marketers.
Bean is in one of the most highly contested House races in the country, running against GOP investment banker David McSweeney.
Bean has a strong financial advantage over McSweeney at this point--some $1.75 million cash-on-hand compared to $147,000 for McSweeney. He poured almost two million of his own money into his primary and the contest left him drained of cash.
Obama’s presence means the presser will likely get coverage—besides, its downtown at the Metcalf Federal Building and more convenient than in Bean’s 8th north suburban congressional district.
(Fact of life—presser with Bean alone touting a bill filing would not attract main Chicago press. With Obama, downtown, on tax day means the coverage prospects are much better.)
Obama may also do another event for Bean next Friday. Obama was the draw at a February funder for Bean.
Obama hits the road Tuesday, for to Austin, Texas for two funders to benefit his HOPEFUND political action committee.
Wednesday, a HOPEFUND funder breakfast in Houston and then to Orlando for another HOPEFUND funder.
Thursday, Obama keynotes funder in Ft. Lauderdale for the Ron Klein congressional campaign and then to Miami for an event to raise money for Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fl.) who is up for re-election in November and the DSCC, the Dem Senate campaign operation.
Catching up…On April 8, Obama landed in Minnesota, where he fronted a rally for Senate hopeful Amy Klobuchar and then headlined the Minnesota DFL party’s Hubert Humphrey Day Dinner.
Obama Futures….He will be the speaker at Northwestern University’s 148th commencement on June. 16. He will receive an honory doctor of laws degrees.
From Bean release….
Bean introduced the Taxpayer Privacy Act of 2006 (HR 5075) in response to a recent IRS proposal that would give tax preparers more leeway to sell clients' personal financial information to marketers and data brokers. Tax preparers would be able to profit from the sale of entire copies of tax forms or of specific information about a taxpayer's income, home ownership, investments, number and age of children, or charitable donations. Current regulations restrict such a sale only to a tax preparer's "affiliated groups" rather than third party
Lynn Sweet is a columnist and the Washington Bureau Chief for the 
RSS feeds 
Email Lynn
Twitter
Facebook
Get Email Alerts:
Leave a comment