If Republicans take the majority in the House of Representatives, they intend to begin instant oversight of the Internal Revenue Service.
Spotlight on IRS
Putting a spotlight on the IRS’ behavior and methods is a high objective, according to each of the three Republicans running to head the House Ways and Means Committee, which has authority over taxes and trade policy in the House.
The most high-ranking member of the committee pursuing the gavel, Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, claimed Democrats spent $80 billion on the organization to recruit 87,000 new IRS agents.
“We’re dedicated to keeping the agency accountable because everyone is concerned about what these IRS officers will do.”
Reps. Jason Smith of Missouri and Adrian Smith of Nebraska, who were vying for the top position on the committee, both had the same opinion.
Jason Smith, who is believed to be competing with Buchanan for the senior committee position, asserted the IRS would have continued to be a primary target for scrutiny even if President Biden’s administration had not been pumping money into it.
Democrats have invested 80 billion into hiring 87,000 more IRS agents. People when you wrote this November think about that. If Republicans game control they want oversight over the IRS.
— Jack N combat veteran (@JackNas51331300) October 7, 2022
Republicans are not only attempting to organize hearings and get media attention if they win the majority.
The first legislation Republicans will vote on in January, according to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, is one sponsored by Adrian Smith that would cut IRS spending.
The Ways and Means Committee would look at more than the employment of additional IRS officers, Republicans quickly pointed out.
They claimed the panel will investigate why the IRS is still slowed down by a backlog of documents that delayed the issuance of tax refunds.
IRS Under Scrutiny
People are saying the IRS is still processing returns on machinery from the 1970s, according to Buchanan.
Fighting Chinese aggressiveness is another important objective, according to Buchanan and the two Smiths, independent of IRS scrutiny.
Republicans aim to stop enterprises owned by the Chinese Communist Party from obtaining taxpayer subsidies by using the committee’s authority over tax and trade policies.
Some of us are Teddy Roosevelt Republicans who want good govt regs/intervention + Congressional oversight but we usually don't get it, it seems, and Obama did incalculable damage with his weaponizing & politicizing government esp. IRS & the DOJ…u people are just too sensitive
— JC (@i4itoo) September 2, 2018
Republicans anticipate bipartisan support for tightening trade regulations and changing the tax code to cease favoring firms with ties to Beijing.
Some others point out Biden has been encouraged by Democratic leadership in Congress to impose new disclosure requirements for Chinese investments made in the United States.
For twenty years, Buchanan remarked, “we’ve kept worrying about China stealing American technology.”
“I believe there is a large appetite to hammer down on China,” the speaker said. Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas decided to retire, opening the top GOP position on the Ways and Means Committee.
When Republican Devin Nunes of California, who was expected to succeed Brady, departed last year to take a position with former President Trump’s media company, lawmakers on the panel were given another surprise.
