Have you noticed that your wallet is lighter? Thanks to Tax Day, you and I had the distinguished opportunity to send a chunk of our hard-earned money to the federal government. Some of this money is spent on vital functions, such as national defense. Unfortunately, there is also rampant waste, fraud, and abuse at federal agencies, including the IRS.
This week, House Republicans took action by passing four bills designed to improve the function, transparency, and accountability at the IRS.
* The No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act (H.R. 1206) requires the IRS to annually guarantee none of its employees have outstanding taxes. This legislation also prohibits the IRS from hiring new employees until it has settled any tax delinquencies with current IRS employees.
This common sense bill which I strongly supported was introduced by my friend and fellow North Carolina Congressman David Rouzer. We must demand transparency from the IRS and hold its employees accountable when they ignore their own tax obligations.
The Ensuring Integrity in the IRS Workforce Act (H.R. 3724) prohibits the IRS from rehiring any individual previously terminated by the agency for misconduct. Incredibly, a 2015 Treasury Department Inspector General report found hundreds of current IRS employees who were previously fired for a host of conduct-related issues, including unauthorized access of taxpayer information, abuse of leave policy, falsification of official documents, unacceptable performance, and failure to pay taxes.
IRS employees who betray the trust of hardworking American taxpayers should not continue to work at the agency.
* The IRS Bonuses Tied to Measurable Metrics Act (H.R. 4890) bans bonuses for IRS employees until the Secretary of the Treasury develops and implements a comprehensive customer service strategy.
My office regularly hears from local taxpayers who can’t get an answer from the IRS. According to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service, the IRS was only able to answer 37 percent of calls during the 2014 filing season. Callers who managed to get through had to wait on hold an average of 23 minutes. This is unacceptable.
Our legislation would bring accountability to the process by tying bonuses to IRS employee customer service performance.
* The IRS Oversight While Eliminating Spending Act (H.R. 4885) will bring accountability to the $400 million in user fees collected by the IRS every year. In 2015, more than half of those user fees went toward implementation of Obamacare and enforcement of President Obama’s healthcare mandates. Instead of using these resources to help taxpayers and reduce customer service wait times, the IRS is using this money to support President Obama’s health care law, which is increasing health care costs for millions of Americans.
The IRS already has a record of abusing its authority by targeting religious and conservative groups. Previously, the House of Representatives addressed this abuse by passing legislation requiring user fees be returned to the Treasury’s general fund, rather than be wasted or abused by the IRS.
While these four pro-taxpayer bills don’t fix every issue at the IRS, they represent House Republicans’ dedication to enforcing IRS transparency and accountability.
My office routinely hears horror stories from constituents having problems with the IRS. My team includes a tireless IRS specialist who has assisted hundreds of constituents cut through IRS red tape. If you live in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District and need assistance with an IRS issue, please call my Charlotte office at 704-362-1060. We are honored to serve you.
ART COMPETITION WINNER
Congratulations to Jacob Thomas of Waxhaw, winner of the 2016 Congressional Art Competition. His piece “Reflections”, will hang in a busy corridor of the U.S. Capitol for one year, where it will be seen by Members of Congress every day walking to and from votes. Check out my Facebook page at Facebook.com/CongressmanPittenger<http://facebook.com/CongressmanPittenger> to see all of this year’s entries.
Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09) is Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, and serves on the House Financial Services Committee, with a special focus on supporting small businesses, community banks, and credit unions.
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