[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 184 (Wednesday, November 30, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6869-S6870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Internal Revenue Service

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, ask any group of Americans how they feel 
about the IRS and you are unlikely to come up with a lot of positive 
reviews and with good reason.
  Repeated mishandling of taxpayer data, not to mention almost 
nonexistent customer service, is unlikely to gain any Agency many fans. 
At this point, the IRS has a disturbing record of mishandling taxpayer 
information. In the past 2 years alone, the IRS has inadvertently 
posted confidential information from 120,000 taxpayers on its website, 
destroyed 30 million unprocessed tax documents, and had troves of 
private taxpayer information end up in the hands of the left-leaning 
news site ProPublica.
  The Agency's customer service record might be even worse. During 
fiscal year 2021, the Agency answered just 11 percent of the 282 
million calls that it received--11 percent. That means that 250 million 
taxpayer calls went unanswered--250 million. And 2022 was no better. 
During the 2022 filing season, 90 percent of taxpayers' calls--90 
percent--went unanswered.
  Any business with a customer service record like that wouldn't be in 
business for very long. Given the Agency's record, I think most 
Americans would say that the IRS is ripe for reform. Democrats, 
however, apparently thought the IRS was ripe for more funding--a lot 
more funding. In August, Democrats passed their so-called Inflation 
Reduction Act. This legislation takes no meaningful steps to reduce 
inflation, but it does flood the IRS with a staggering $80 billion over 
the next 10 years, a sum equal to six times the Agency's 2022 budget. 
That is enough money to double--double--the size of the IRS.
  The bill provides for the hiring of as many as 87,000 new IRS 
employees, an estimate that came from President Biden's Treasury 
Department. That would make the IRS larger than the Customs and Border 
Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard combined.
  Suddenly and dramatically increasing the size of any government 
Agency is cause for concern. Are there plans in place to make sure the 
money is used efficiently? Can the Agency in question handle such a 
swift expansion and the increased responsibility that comes with it?
  These are serious questions no matter what Agency we are talking 
about, but these questions are particularly relevant when the Agency in 
question is already doing a poor job of handling its basic 
responsibilities.
  Yet despite the IRS's record, despite the repeated breaches of 
taxpayer confidentiality and the nearly nonexistent taxpayer service, 
Democrats passed legislation to double the size of the Agency without 
including any meaningful accountability measures to ensure that the new 
funding is used responsibly.
  I guess it is not terribly surprising, given that the Democrats made 
it clear that their main interest in supersizing the IRS was increasing 
government revenue. But it is deeply troubling. We should not be 
doubling the size of an Agency that is already notable for its failure 
to adequately carry out its basic mission.
  Since Democrats are flooding the IRS with a lot of additional money, 
Americans deserve to know that money is being spent wisely and 
efficiently and that it isn't going to make taxpayers' experiences with 
the IRS even worse. That is why I and my fellow Republicans have been 
focused on doing everything we can to provide rigorous oversight and 
accountability for this new money. I have introduced multiple bills to 
help protect taxpayers.
  My Increase Reliable Services Now Act, which I introduced with 
Senator Collins, would prevent the IRS from hiring new enforcement 
agents until customer service at the IRS has reached a more acceptable 
standard. I also worked with Senator Mike Crapo on a bill to protect 
taxpayers earning less than $400,000 per year from increased audits.
  Democrats' main reason for boosting IRS funding was to increase tax 
collection measures, including audits, to squeeze out revenue for their 
Green New Deal agenda.
  There is substantial reason to be concerned that despite Democrats' 
protests to the contrary, some of that audit funding will be used to 
increase audits of middle-income taxpayers. It is hard to explain why 
else every single Democrat opposed an amendment to prevent the IRS from 
using its new funding to increase audits of these Americans.
  The bill I introduced with Senator Crapo and my Republican colleagues 
on the Senate Finance Committee would protect middle-income Americans 
from seeing new audits as a result of this new money.
  Most recently, just a few days before Thanksgiving, Senator Chuck 
Grassley and I led our fellow Finance Committee Republicans in 
introducing the IRS Funding Accountability Act. Our

[[Page S6870]]

legislation would require the IRS to provide Congress with an annual 
plan for how the Agency intends to use its new funding, a plan that 
could be rejected by Congress with a joint resolution of disapproval. 
And the IRS would be required to provide Congress with quarterly 
updates on implementation of its spending plans.
  This would enable consistent and transparent oversight, provide 
accountability for any misuse of funds, and guard against violations of 
taxpayer rights.
  And there would be real consequences for failing to submit plans or 
reports on time, including the rescission of funds until the IRS 
complies with reporting requirements.
  The mission statement of the IRS is to:

       Provide America's taxpayers top-quality service by helping 
     them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and 
     enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.

  Unfortunately, in recent years, the IRS has fallen far short of this 
standard. And flooding the agency with $80 billion over and above its 
current budget--the majority of it for increased enforcement, let's 
just be honest--with no accountability, no oversight measures, is 
unlikely to do much to ensure taxpayers receive top-quality service.
  I hope at least some of my Democrat colleagues will decide to join 
Republicans to enact measures that provide real accountability at the 
IRS, which is needed now more than ever. American taxpayers deserve 
nothing less.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Texas.