Taxpayer First Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, today exemplifies what this body is supposed to be about, the people's House acting in the best interest of the people. Republicans and Democrats have come together to pass the Taxpayer First Act, landmark legislation to reform the IRS so it better works for every single American.

I am honored to have coauthored this bill with my good friend, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis). I thank the gentleman for his commitment to the taxpayers and for working with me on a great achievement for the American people.

We all work for the American people, whether you are sitting in this House, or whether you are a member of some agency. And we look at the 80,000 employees at the IRS, and we know that they work with an $11 billion budget which is supplied by hardworking American taxpayers. It should work in their best interest.

Over the last 2 years, the Ways and Means Committee and various subcommittees held hearings and other events to discover what is working, and what isn't. As we looked at redesigning the IRS, we focused on improving the relationship between our taxpayers and our government.

Both sides agree that the IRS should prioritize taxpayers' rights and that it should be a resource and not an adversary to the American people.

This bill will achieve those goals. Americans will interact with an IRS that carries out customer service like we do in the private sector; improved support with services online, in person and on the phone will finally become a reality.

Gone are those days when you would walk into a business and there would be a complaint department. Instead, it has been replaced by customer service. The IRS is going to be a customer service agency. Let's look at what this legislation will do.

First, to achieve the mission outlined above, the agency's quality service motto will no longer just be a motto that rings hollow. The bill requires the IRS to adopt commonsense, private-sector-like customer service standards; things as simple as a callback option so Americans aren't stuck on hold for hours on end.

Secondly, we are overhauling the IRS' enforcement tools so families and small businesses don't have property unfairly seized. The Constitution guarantees all Americans the right to due process and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. Our legislation prevents outrageous enforcement abuses to protect taxpayers from unfair seizures.

Third, the Taxpayer First Act recasts the IRS as our tax administrator rather than simply an enforcement agency. It is more than a semantic difference. It would change the culture at the agency for the better.

Another way it will protect taxpayers is by creating an independent appeals office. This will give taxpayers a fair and impartial review of disputes they may have with the IRS.

We also took note of the fact that it shouldn't take a Freedom of Information Act request to see what evidence the IRS is using against taxpayers in those disputes. This legislation will make sure you can see your individual case file when resolving a dispute with the agency.

Lastly, we are revamping the IRS' outdated and ancient technology which will better position the agency to proactively combat cyber threats. IRS employees are forced to use technology that is outrageously outdated; some of it dates back to the 1960s.

This bill provides accountability to the IRS for the billions in funding it is given for IT each year. That accountability extends to protections against cyber threats. We must ensure that taxpayer information is safe and that refunds are not at risk to thieves. This legislation strengthens the IRS' partnership with States and the private sector to combat those threats.

Taken together, these reforms will greatly benefit Americans each year during tax season and end disputes with the IRS.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 1957, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, as a former tax lawyer and CPA, I have seen too often the detrimental effect of substandard technology at the IRS and substandard customer service.

I stand in support today of the Taxpayer First Act. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became the law of the land, our economic potential has been unleashed, and America is, once again, the land of opportunity. When we passed the tax reform package, our message was clear: We won't wait another 30 years to take up tax legislation. We will consistently work to improve the system for American taxpayers.

In order for any company to be successful, it needs modern technology that supports its customer service mission. The IRS, whose customers are 140 million Americans, should be no exception.

Filing taxes should be straightforward and simple, and taxpayers should be treated fairly and with respect by the IRS. However, that is not how the majority of Americans describe their experience with the agency. This legislation will require the IRS to modernize their ancient technology and will address many of the issues American taxpayers face when dealing with our Nation's tax collector.

Included in this package is my bill, the Electronic Signature Standards Act, which requires the IRS to implement uniform standards to accept electronic signatures. This is a simple, free way for small businesses and individual taxpayers to comply with system requirements. Providing uniform guidance for e-signatures will simplify the filing process for taxpayers who depend on this commonly used technology and enable the IRS to move forward with a secure filing option they already support.

In conjunction with other legislation in this reform package, the Electronic Signature Standards Act will bring the IRS into the 21st century so that it can serve hardworking American taxpayers better.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation and take this opportunity to return the IRS to its taxpayer first mission.

I thank Mr. Lewis so much. I can't tell the gentleman what an honor it is to be on the floor with him today in the people's House, working on legislation that benefits every single American, something he has done all his life. To be here with Mr. Lewis today and to get this done is incredible.

It has often been said that, if you do the right thing for the right reasons, good things happen. Wouldn't it be great today if all of our colleagues come together to do the right thing for the right reason, for the right people: our hardworking American taxpayers.

This is an incredible day for America to look at the people's House and say this was a day when both Democrats and Republicans came together to do the right thing at the right time, for the right people.

It has been an incredible honor, and I want to thank the staff. As we know, it is the staff that does so much work and puts in hour after hour after hour to make this a success. I can't thank them all enough for what they have all done. It has been incredible work. It was done not just in the best interest of the Congressperson for whom they work because, more importantly, they work for the American people.

It is always great being with Mr. Lewis, especially on a day like this. It has been an incredible day for the American people, to prove to them that, in Washington, D.C., the people's House is doing that, working together for them, bringing us together as a body, a legislative body, something that they have been looking for and looking to and saying: Why can't you all just get together and do the right thing? Today is the day that that is going to happen.

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