The Daily Journal Online - U.S. House Passes Rep. Smith's IRS OWES Act
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By Daily Journal Online
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed H.R. 4885 -- also known as the IRS Oversight While Eliminating Spending (OWES) Act -- by a bipartisan vote of 245-179. The bill was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-8th District.
Smith said the bill "provides Congress and the American public with greater oversight and transparency with regard to how the IRS is spending valuable taxpayer resources."
During debate on the House Floor, Smith said, "This bill is about liberating the folks of Missouri, along with all Americans, from the IRS. It is about making the IRS beholden to them and not the other way around. And it is about exerting our Article 1 authority of the power of the purse of Congress -making sure that unelected bureaucrats are not spending taxpayer money improperly and unwisely."
According to Smith, the IRS is currently collecting upward of $500 million in user fees annually and has been spending that money without Congressional approval.
"In 2014 the IRS appropriated $183 million of its user fees for taxpayer assistance services such as reducing wait times and providing call center assistance, but in 2015 they cut that amount to $49 million as they transitioned to spending funds on implementing Obamacare mandates," Smith said. "That translates to a 73 percent cut in funding that the IRS chose to put towards funding Obamacare instead of increasing services provided directly to taxpayers and improving the agency's overall responsiveness."
After the bill's passage, Smith said, "The passage of my bill today is a win for hard-working taxpayers across America. The IRS has proven time and time again that they are an out of control agency that cannot be trusted to spend taxpayer funds appropriately. The pattern here is alarming, when the IRS has discretion; the agency uses that discretion in ways that harm Americans. It is the duty of the IRS to work for the taxpayers, not against them."
Smith has successfully passed through the House more major pieces of legislation than any other non-committee chairman in 2016.
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