{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2025/12/rep-sewell-celebrates-house-passage-of-bipartisan-tax-court-improvement-act", "Rep. Sewell Celebrates House Passage of Bipartisan Tax Court Improvement Act", "2025-12-01", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) celebrated the unanimous passage of the Tax Court Improvement Act in the House. The bill, co-led by Reps. Sewell and Nathaniel Moran (TX-01), would streamline Tax Court procedures, provide additional rights for taxpayers, and increase internal accountability to improve the U.S. Tax Court system.\n\n\u201cOur constituents deserve a Tax Court that is efficient, fair, and transparent,\" said Rep. Sewell. \"I was proud to work with my colleague Congressman Moran to lead the bipartisan Tax Court Improvement Act which will have a tangible impact on the thousands of taxpayers and small businesses that utilize the court every year.\u201d\n\n\u201cI appreciate Rep. Sewell\u2019s leadership and collaboration on this important bill,\" said Rep. Moran. \"Together, we are focused on practical reforms that make the Tax Court more transparent, more accessible, and more just for taxpayers across the country.\u201d\n\nThe bill makes four commonsense reforms to improve the Tax Court process:\n\nEquitable tolling of deadlines: Gives the Tax Court discretion to extend filing deadlines when taxpayer reciprocity requires it, such as during courthouse closures or extraordinary circumstances.\n\nExpanded role for special trial judges: Allows more types of cases to be heard by special trial judges upon consent of the taxpayer, as well as limited contempt authority to ensure compliance with court orders.\n\nJudicial disqualification standards: Holds Tax Court judges to the same recusal standards as other federal judges, increasing public confidence in the system.\n\nSubpoena authority before hearings: Empowers Tax Court judges to require documents earlier in the process, which will help settle cases faster and save taxpayers time and money.\n\nBackground\n\nThe U.S. Tax Court is a specialized court where taxpayers can dispute IRS determinations without first paying the disputed amount. Each year, thousands of taxpayers\u2014many of them individuals and small businesses\u2014turn to the Tax Court for a fair hearing.\n\nCurrently, gaps in the law make the process more burdensome than it should be:\n\nSubpoena limits prevent judges from requiring key documents early, delaying settlements.\n\nSpecial trial judges handle many cases, but their authority is restricted and inconsistent with the needs of taxpayers.\n\nJudicial recusal standards are not aligned with other federal courts, creating unnecessary questions of integrity.\n\nRigid filing deadlines mean taxpayers can lose their right to a hearing through no fault of their own \u2014 for example, when a courthouse or online portal is closed.\n\nThe Tax Court Improvement Act addresses these issues directly, ensuring that taxpayers have confidence their cases will be handled fairly, efficiently, and transparently.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://sewell.house.gov/2025/12/rep-sewell-celebrates-house-passage-of-bipartisan-tax-court-improvement-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.87348697707057, "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"}