{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/kelly-introduces-bill-hold-irs-accountable-strengthen-oversight-and-protect", "Kelly introduces bill to hold the IRS accountable, strengthen oversight, and protect taxpayer money", "2022-11-21", "2022", "2022-11", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Mike Kelly", "K000376", "kelly.house.gov", "kelly", "https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), the top Republican on the Ways & Means' Select Revenues Subcommittee, introduced H.R. 9341, the IRS Funding Accountability Act. The legislation responds to the Democrats\u2019 use of the so-called \u201cInflation Reduction Act\u201d (IRA) that will infuse the IRS with $80 billion of new funding without any oversight measures to prevent waste, protect taxpayer rights, or measure improvements of service.\n\nThe IRS Funding Accountability Act would give Congress a direct say in how this new funding could be spent, further hold the IRS accountable, and provide more transparency for the American people. Rep. Kelly's bill is supported in the U.S. Senate by companion legislation introduced by Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), senior members of the Senate tax-writing committee.\n\n\"Democrats and the Biden administration have weaponized the IRS over the last two years to pay for their tax-and-spend agenda. The time for oversight is now,\" Rep. Kelly said. \"The $80 billion authorized in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act will unfairly target low-and-middle income Americans. The goal of my legislation is to provide much-needed oversight and accountability that the Inflation Reduction Act lacks. This will hold government accountable to the American people and ensure the IRS is properly using taxpayer dollars.\"\n\n\u201cThe Democrats\u2019 attempt to supersize the IRS without holding the agency accountable to Congress and American taxpayers is dangerous and irresponsible,\u201d said Sen. Thune. \u201cThis legislation would provide much-needed oversight of the unprecedented $80 billion in new funding to the agency, more than half of which Democrats have directed toward enforcement-related measures, including audits. If our bill becomes law, the Biden administration\u2019s IRS would have to answer to the American people, not Washington bureaucrats.\u201d\n\n\u201cGovernment, especially when it comes to the treatment of taxpayers, needs to be accountable and transparent to the American people,\u201d said Sen. Grassley. \u201cWhen Democrats\u2019 partisan spending bill gave the IRS an extra 80 billion dollars, their legislation included no oversight mechanisms whatsoever. Our bill will ensure that the IRS is answerable to the American people in how it uses this money, and will force it to forfeit funds every day it\u2019s not in compliance.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nRep. Kelly's legislation would, among other things:\n\nRequire the IRS to provide Congress with an annual plan for how the agency intends to use the new IRA funds, which would be subject to a new joint resolution of disapproval.\n\nRequire quarterly updates from the IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury to enable consistent and transparent evaluation of the plans\n\nProvide accountability for any misuse of funds, and guard against violations of taxpayer rights. Failure to submit timely and thorough plans or reports would result in financial penalties, including IRA funds being rescinded on a daily basis until the IRS complies with the reporting requirements.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:24:37Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/kelly-introduces-bill-hold-irs-accountable-strengthen-oversight-and-protect"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2982461377978325, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}