21st Century Irs Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5445. This bill is an important first step to bringing the IRS into the 21st century.

Let me begin by thanking the gentlewoman from Kansas, Ms. Jenkins, for her hard work on this bill. I would also like to thank our colleagues--the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bishop) and the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene)--for their good work and their leadership on this bill. I would also like to thank our staff for helping us closely examine the IRS operation.

Before we put pen to paper, we took our time to learn about the agency and the taxpayer experience. In the past year, the Oversight Subcommittee held five hearings and four roundtable discussions on this bill. The staff also went on site visits to see the issues firsthand. In every meeting, the subcommittee heard concerns about outdated technology, the need for better coordination, and the increasing security threats.

In response, the committee developed a bipartisan bill that will improve the IRS IT system. The 21st Century IRS Act will also strengthen the role of the IRS chief information officer. Most importantly, H.R. 5445 will protect taxpayers' information and fight identity theft and tax refund fraud.

The 21st Century IRS Act addresses some of the most commonsense taxpayer service and IT challenges. It also continues the work of the former IRS Commissioner, who took steps to bring government and industry together to address some of these issues.

Mr. Speaker, make no mistake, much more is needed. As we all know, identity theft and tax fraud continue to challenge tax administration. Congress' decisions to cut the agency's budget by nearly $1 billion over the past 8 years has not helped. We all understand that the IRS is in desperate need of more funding and more staff. These reductions harm both taxpayer services and tax administration.

Unfortunately, the chickens are coming home to roost--and I know something about chickens coming home to roost; I used to raise chickens--and showing the Nation that this path is not sustainable.

Yesterday, the IRS experienced a number of IT challenges. Although the IRS extended the tax filing deadline, this experience showed the Nation how important it is that Congress invest in the IRS systems and operations. Mr. Speaker, I believe that each and every one of us cares deeply about the agency's ability to provide service to taxpayers. The 21st Century IRS Act is an important first step in this process.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. DelBene), the Democratic lead cosponsor.
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Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill and a necessary bill. Again, I thank the chair, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bishop), the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), and all of our colleagues for their hard and good work. We should be very, very proud of the process and the product. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

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