No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. ROUZER. I thank my colleague and friend from North Carolina (Mr. Holding) for yielding time to discuss this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I filed this bill, H.R. 1206, the No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act, in response to reading news reports of more than 1,500 employees at the IRS who willfully failed to follow their own tax guidelines and, in a number of cases, were found to be seriously delinquent on their taxes.
For starters, it is the height of hypocrisy for the very agency that is charged with collecting taxes to have employees who refuse to adhere to the standards and guidelines which the rest of us must follow and abide by. Of course, this is in addition to the egregious behavior and abuse of power some in the agency displayed when they targeted organizations for their political affiliations and beliefs. We all remember how the IRS misled taxpayers and the Congress in an effort to deny that such activity ever even occurred. Thankfully, the truth always has a way of being revealed, at least eventually.
I think we can all agree that the American people deserve a government that works for them, not against them. Certainly, the IRS is one of the most cumbersome, customer-unfriendly agencies in the Federal Government, regardless of how much they are funded. Anyone who denies this hasn't been listening to the American people.
Now, let me be clear. There are plenty of fine civil servants working hard at the IRS and in all other agencies of the Federal Government. It is the culture of arrogance and unchecked bureaucratic power that has developed within these agencies that is the problem and is the catalyst for the type of disregard and double standard this bill aims to help address. This culture starts with the leadership at the top.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is very simple. It prohibits the IRS from hiring any new additional employees until the agency can certify that every one of their employees who are out of step with the tax requirements imposed on the American people have a plan to achieve compliance. Now, who can argue against this?
For all the moaning and groaning I have heard from the other side of the aisle the past couple of days, this is not a bill that merits even one vote of opposition. This is a commonsense bill that will help encourage the IRS to clean up its act, and I encourage my colleagues to vote for it.
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Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, there are several things that come to mind here. Number one, each Member of Congress is held accountable every 2 years by the voters of their respective district.
The last time I checked, this is referred to as the people's House. We are either here to represent our constituencies and our people back home or we are representing the bureaucracy of the Federal Government.
Now, I don't know what side my other colleagues, particularly on the other side of the aisle, care to be on as it relates to this, but I personally think it is important to represent our people back home, not the bureaucracies here in Washington, D.C.
The other thing I have heard as it relates to this bill is it is mean. My goodness. What is mean about this? All it says is, when the IRS can certify that their employees who are delinquent have a plan to get back into compliance, they are able to hire again. Until then, there is a freeze on hiring.
There is nothing mean about that. It is just good common sense. It is an encouragement, and it is an incentive for the IRS to clean up its act.
Then we hear about the funding issue. I have never ever, ever once heard the other side say that there was plenty of funding for any Federal agency, the IRS or any agency.
I will tell you what is mean and what is destructive is an obstructive, intrusive Federal Government that does not allow the individual American people and our families to do what they do best, and that is grow a business, make a profit, and create jobs.
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Mr. ROUZER. I read somewhere not long ago that rules and regulations of the IRS and elsewhere have cost this economy $2 trillion in the last fiscal year--$2 trillion.
If we got rid of the rules and regulations that are harming the economy and that are keeping our economy from growing at a robust pace, then the IRS would end up having a whole lot more money.
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Mr. ROUZER. I yield to the gentleman from Oregon.
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Mr. ROUZER. This bill is about accountability. Every Member of this Congress is held accountable every 2 years.
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Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, I have listened to this debate today and the discussion about inversions. There is a broader point that is missed here.
Inversions aren't even an issue if America is the most attractive place to do business. Capital investment goes where it is welcome, not where it is unwelcome.
Why do you hear about inversions today? It is because we have an outdated Tax Code that significantly needs reform. It is because we have more rules and regulations than we have ever had before that are stifling the economy to the tune of $2 trillion annually. It is because we have a healthcare law in place that is killing the economy and job growth.
I can't tell you how many businesses I meet and go and visit all across the district that are sitting right at 49 employees. I wonder why. It is because of the healthcare law that is unworkable and destroying the American economy.
Again, capital and investment goes where it is welcome. How do we make that possible again? We reform our Tax Code so that this is the most attractive place to do business in the world. We get rid of the rules and regulations that make it so difficult to do business, all the rules and regulations coming out of labor, EPA, and everywhere else.
It is not just one, it is all of them. It is death by a thousand cuts. I can't tell you how many people I have talked to all across my district who say: David, do you know what? Business is just no fun anymore.
And so they are plotting their exit strategy. They are not plotting the strategy of growth. They are plotting a strategy to exit and retire with what they have been able to achieve so far.
Here is the fundamental question of this bill. Are we going to be on the side of the American people? Or are we going to be on the side of the bureaucracy? Are we going to defend the EPA? Are we going to defend the IRS? Are we going to defend the Department of Labor? Are we going to defend all these rules and regulations that are killing the American economy? Or are we going to stand with the American people? That is the question before us today.
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