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WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) decried the vote by Republicans tonight to pass legislation that eliminates federal funding delivered to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the Inflation Reduction Act. This funding, advanced by House Democrats last year, set out to help the agency ensure Americans received their tax returns quickly and to make billionaires and wealthy corporations pay their fair share. This Republican bill will rescind those critical measures and weaken the ability of IRS employees to do their job.

“Every American relies on the IRS to process their taxes each year, and I believe that everyone deserves adequate and timely support from this important agency,” Congressman Tonko said. “But the IRS has been understaffed, under-resourced, and backlogged for years, resulting in Americans—including many in my own district—being forced to wait months or even years for their tax returns. From the beginning, Republicans have willfully misunderstood and lied to the American people about the provisions included in our Inflation Reduction Act, which would help Americans receive timely service from the IRS. Their legislation will hamstring agency workers and allow billionaires and corporations to more easily slip through the cracks and avoid paying what they owe. This bill isn’t about supporting middle-class, hardworking families, it’s about filling the pockets of the one percent, and I will never support that.”

Republicans’ bill, H.R. 23, rescinds $72 billion of the $80 billion appropriated to the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act, critical funding to allow the agency to crack down on tax evasion by the ultra rich and corporations. The legislation dismantles a key component of the Inflation Reduction Act that reduced rising costs for middle-class families and ensured that taxpayers are not left to foot the bill for wealthy tax cheats. It also comes on the heels of a Republican-forced 2 percent cut to the agency in the federal omnibus package.

Just today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report stating that H.R. 23 would increase the national deficit by estimated $114 billion over the next 10 years by enabling more tax cheats.