Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Prevention Act of 2016

Floor Speech

I commend my friend from Ohio (Mr. Renacci) for his work on this bill. As he knows, I have been interested in this issue of tax fraud and identity theft for some time.

I am pleased that the bill we are marking up today, H.R. 3832, includes many provisions included in the bill that I put forth, H.R. 3981, the Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Prevention Act. These provisions include having a central point of contact for a victim of identity theft and taxpayer notification of suspected identity theft. In addition, two of my amendments were included in the bill.

The first would create a local law enforcement liaison within the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS. Our police and law enforcement officers are out every day, keeping our communities safe and tracking down criminals. Too often, coordinating their efforts with the IRS when it comes to identity theft is not as easy as it should be.

My amendment helps law enforcement officers do their jobs by creating a local law enforcement liaison at the IRS. This position will be tasked with sharing information and responding to local law enforcement when they have information or inquiries about identity theft cases. It is common sense, and it will make it easier for police officers to go to a single place at the IRS when they want to work a case.

The second amendment included in this bill deals with the IRS phone scam, and this is growing by the day. Imagine sitting at home when you receive a call from a threatening voice on the other end of the line that claims to be the IRS. For too many Americans, this experience is all too familiar. These criminals may ask unsuspecting citizens for their personal information, for their Social Security numbers, or even for bank account information--that has been done; it is very common-- and will threaten them with arrest or other penalties if the listeners don't comply. These phone scams have become increasingly aggressive and harmful to taxpayers.

My amendment addresses this problem in practical ways. First, it requires the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to issue a report that identifies potential technological solutions to the phone scam.

Second, it would have the IRS provide information to callers who may be put on hold, when calling in, regarding common identity theft tax scams and how to avoid them.

We need to do all we can to make sure taxpayers are informed and armed against these scams. Identity theft and tax fraud is a growing problem in the United States of America. As technology changes and as criminal syndicates target American citizens' tax returns, we have an obligation to address the issue.

This bill does not go quite as far as I would have liked, and I urge my colleagues to take a look at H.R. 3981. I am also proud to be a cosponsor of Congressman John Lewis' bill, the Taxpayer Protection Act of 2016, which takes additional steps to increase funding for taxpayer services and to end the use of private debt collectors.

This bill is a step in the right direction. I congratulate its sponsor as it is a good example of how we can work together across the aisle and find commonsense solutions for the American people. I hope this is a harbinger of things to come. Who knows?

I just want to quickly say that what is really happening out there is that many seniors are being preyed upon. When you get a threatening phone call, you don't know what to think. And when you are up there in age, as some of us are, Mr. Kelly, you don't know what to expect, and you don't know who to turn to.

So this is very important, what Mr. Renacci is putting forth right now. I just want everyone to understand that. It has good bipartisan support, and I hope that we can move this very, very quickly.
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