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New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is celebrating the first bill passed under his speakership after Republicans voted to rescind the massive IRS funding increase passed during the reign of his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.
McCarthy took to Twitter to celebrate the news. He tweeted, “House Republicans just voted unanimously to repeal the Democrats’ army of 87,000 IRS agents. This was our very first act of the new Congress because the government should work for you, not against you. Promises made. Promises kept.”
Republicans have claimed that the $80 billion increase in IRS funding—which was included in the passage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act— would lead to the hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents that would target middle-class and lower-income Americans. The rescission of the IRS funding increase was a central pillar of the House GOP’s 2022 midterm campaign.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the legislation would eliminate about $71 billion of the total $80 billion allocated to the IRS by the previous Democrat-controlled Congress.
According to The Hill, “The Republican bill, formally titled the ‘Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protect Act,’ is barely longer than one page. It directs any ‘unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available’ to the IRS from the Inflation Reduction Act to be rescinded.”
The bill also specifies that the IRS can only spend new money on customer service and IT improvements rather than hiring agents, auditors, and other staff members, according to the New York Post.
Not surprisingly, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was outraged by the GOP effort to rescind the IRS funding increase.
She said, “It is shameful, but not surprising, that House Republicans’ first order of business in this Congress is to protect corporate America and ultra-wealthy individuals who are illegally avoiding taxes.”
Pelosi added: “Last summer, Democrats proudly enacted the Inflation Reduction Act: a strong step toward tax fairness that improved taxpayer services for families and bolstered resources to ensure the wealthiest few and greediest corporations will pay what they owe.”
