{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warner-cassidy-bill-to-improve-irs-customer-service-passes-senate/", "Warner, Cassidy Bill to Improve IRS Customer Service Passes Senate", "2026-09-30", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Mark R. Warner", "W000805", "www.warner.senate.gov", "warner", "https://www.warner.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014 Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Taxpayer Assistance and Service (TAS) Act, which includes several provisions from the senators\u2019 Improving IRS Customer Service Act. The legislation will take important steps to improve communication between the IRS and taxpayers, streamline tax compliance processes, and ensure taxpayers have timely access to expert assistance, among other much-needed tax administration reforms. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives.\n\n\u201cProvisions from my Improving IRS Customer Service Act will bring clarity and relief to taxpayers in Virginia and across the country,\u201d said Sen. Warner. \u201cI want to thank my colleagues in the Senate for passing this crucial bill to make tax season a little bit easier for the millions of Americans who file taxes. I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this bill and send it to the president\u2019s desk to become law.\u201d\n\n\u201cTaxpayers should get the help they need without a fight. This package gives the American people a stronger voice and makes help easier to access,\u201d said Dr. Cassidy.\n\nThe provisions of Improving IRS Customer Service Act included:\n\nEstablish a dashboard to inform taxpayers of backlogs and wait times. Specifically, this provision reduces unnecessary calls and letters to the IRS by requiring the IRS to establish a user-friendly, real-time dashboard on IRS.gov, providing taxpayers with information on call volume, backlogs, wait times, and the availability of callbacks.\n\nExpand electronic access to information about returns and refunds. Specifically, this provision reduces unnecessary calls and letters by requiring upgrades to the IRS\u2019s \u201cWhere\u2019s my Refund?\u201d tool, \u201cWhere\u2019s my Amended Return?\u201d tool, and Online Account or any successor systems. These upgrades will provide more individualized information to taxpayers about the status of their refunds, including whether their return has been suspended, and if so, what the IRS has requested and how to provide the information.\n\nExpand callback technology. Specifically, this provision recommends that by 2028 the IRS should provide taxpayers the option to receive a callback on all its lines and extensions when calls are not answered within 5 minutes. Currently, the IRS sometimes offers taxpayers the option to have the IRS call them back instead of waiting on hold \u2013 an option highly valued by taxpayers.\n\nExpand online accounts. Specifically, this provision requires the IRS to upgrade its online accounts after conducting focus groups with stakeholders. These upgrades will permit taxpayers and certain representatives to view images of tax returns, documents, notices, and letters sent or received by the IRS and provide responses to IRS inquiries through the online account. It also requires the IRS to give practitioners, return preparers with valid PTINS, and qualified reporting agents access to client accounts without requiring them to log in to each client\u2019s account separately. The IRS would need to establish a program to prevent unauthorized disclosures by such persons and to publish an annual report on its activities.\n\nInform individuals facing economic hardships of collection alternatives. This provision requires the IRS to inform taxpayers who request certain types of \u201cstreamlined\u201d installment agreements of other available collection alternatives if they have an outstanding tax liability and may be experiencing economic hardship. The provision also requires the Secretary, in consultation with the National Taxpayer Advocate, to report to Congress on the IRS\u2019s accuracy in identifying taxpayers with tax liabilities who have an economic hardship, the status of the liabilities, and whether its identification procedures could be used for other purposes.\n\nSen. Warner is committed to improving IRS customer service and accelerating refund times. Sen. Warner first introduced the Improving IRS Customer Service Act in 2024 with Sen. Cassidy. Last year, Warner wrote to the National Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS regarding the underperforming Richmond TAS office and advocated against any harmful personnel decisions that stand to negatively impact taxpayers. He also strongly supported the Inflation Reduction Act \u2013 legislation that provided $80 billion in funding for the IRS to modernize systems and improve customer service.\n\n###", 1, "2026-10-01T11:23:28Z", "2026-10-01T11:25:15Z"]], "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://www.warner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warner-cassidy-bill-to-improve-irs-customer-service-passes-senate/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.966120045632124, "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"}