A GOP-controlled House committee has unveiled legislation to block the Internal Revenue Service from issuing new rules intended to rein in the use of tax-exempt groups for political campaigning.

The provision was added to a spending bill funding the IRS budget. It would stop the agency from placing restrictions on loosely regulated big-money political outfits such as GOP political guru Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS and the pro-Obama Priorities USA. The House Appropriations Committee unveiled the legislation on Tuesday.

The IRS had already signaled it would delay issuance of the rules after a preliminary outline released in November sparked 150,000 comments. Many of those were from angry conservatives and tea party groups who said they were harassed by the IRS after seeking tax exempt status.

(AP)