Public Now - Price Statement on Ways and Means Markup of Legislation to Hold the IRS More Accountable

Op-Ed

By Tom Price

Congressman Tom Price, M.D. (GA-06) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Ways and Means met today to mark up four pieces of legislation to hold the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) more accountable.

'Under the Obama Administration, the IRS has unfairly targeted citizens, failed to objectively enforce the law, and has provided inadequate support to a majority of Americans filing their taxes. Despite this disappointing track record, the IRS has continued to reward its employees with bonuses for inadequate work. American taxpayers work hard for their money and rightly expect high standards for IRS employees who handle highly sensitive taxpayer information. Today, the House Ways & Means Committee took steps to ensure that the agency is more accountable to American taxpayers.'

If signed into law, these measures would:

Prohibit the IRS from rehiring employees who were fired for misconduct.
Prohibit the IRS from paying bonuses to employees until the Secretary of the Treasury develops and implements a comprehensive customer service strategy that puts hardworking taxpayers first.
Require the Treasury to deposit these funds into a general fund that will be used for improving taxpayer services.
Suspend the hiring of new IRS employees unless the Treasury Secretary certifies that no IRS employees have serious delinquencies with respect to their own tax obligations.

Congressman Price is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, as well as Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget. As House Budget Committee Chairman, Price has worked with his colleagues to advance a budget proposal that calls for a complete overhaul of the outdated tax code to ensure a system that works for individuals, families, and business of all sizes.

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