Floor Situation

On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, the House will begin consideration of H.R. 1206, the No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act, under a rule. H.R. 1206 was introduced on March, 2 2015 by Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC), and was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, which ordered the bill reported, as amended, by voice vote, on April 13, 2016.

 

Bill Summary

H.R. 1206 requires that the Secretary of the Treasury either certify to Congress that there are no IRS employees with seriously delinquent tax debt, or submit a report to Congress explaining why it is unable to provide such a certification. A failure to provide such a certification or report results in a prohibition on extending offers of employment at the IRS. The legislation defines a seriously delinquent tax debt as an outstanding debt for which the IRS has filed a notice of lien in public records, excluding a tax debt:

1. That is being paid in a timely manner under an approved installment payment agreement or an offer-in-compromise;
2. For which a collection due process hearing has been requested or is pending;
3. For which a tax levy has been issued; or
4. With respect to which relief has been granted due to economic hardship.

Background

According to the U.S. Code, the Commissioner of the IRS is authorized to employ individuals at his or her discretion, unless otherwise specified by the Secretary of the Treasury. As part of the basic obligation of public service, all Federal employees are required to comply with legal and financial obligations, as well as additional rules that apply to employees of the Department of the Treasury.  To enforce these standards, the IRS requires pre-employment audits of all employees and reviews employee compliance with filing requirements.[1]

In February 2015, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that there were hundreds of employees who failed to follow IRS guidelines when filing their own tax returns. The report also found that there were at least five IRS employees who intentionally failed to file their taxes.[2]

According to the bill’s sponsor, “When press reports last year revealed that hundreds of IRS employees were not compliant with the requirements they are responsible for enforcing, I was outraged. The No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act ensures that IRS employees pay their taxes just like everyone else.”[3]

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[1] See Joint Committee on Taxation, Description of H.R. 1206, A Bill to Prohibit the Hiring of Additional Internal Revenue Service Employees Until The Secretary of the Treasury Certifies That No Internal Revenue Service Employee Has Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt (JCX-17-16), April 12, 2016 at 2.
[2] See Rep. Rouzer’s Press Release, “Rouzer bill to hold IRS accountable passes committee, heads to House floor” April 14, 2016.
[3] Id.

Cost

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate is unavailable at this time. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that implementing H.R. 1206 would have no effect on Federal fiscal year budget receipts for the 2016-2026 period. In addition, the legislation does not authorize additional appropriations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Amendments

1. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) – This amendment limits the information furnished under this act to only be used for the purposes of this act and further provides that the information produced wouldn’t be published in any form in which any particular individual can be identified nor can this information be made available to anyone outside of the Internal Revenue Service.

Additional Information

For questions or further information please contact Jake Vreeburg with the House Republican Policy Committee by email or at 5-0190.