President Obama issued a veto threat this week to one of four Republican bills that are meant to improve the integrity of the Internal Revenue Service.
Three of the bills were picked apart and deemed "unnecessary" in a statement released Monday by the Office of Management and Budget:
The Administration opposes H.R. 1206, the No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act; H.R. 4890, the IRS Bonuses Tied to Measurable Metrics Act; and H.R. 3724, the Ensuring Integrity in the IRS Workforce Act of 2015. These bills would impose unnecessary constraints on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) operations without improving the agency's ability to administer the tax code and serve taxpayers.
The first bill mentioned, H.R. 1206, would prevent the hire of any new employees that show a tax delinquency or tax debt. But the Obama administration said the bill would be unnecessary because "IRS employees are among the most tax-compliant groups in the Nation with a delinquency rate of less than 1 percent." The statement explained further the administration's resistance:
The bill could result in the IRS being prohibited from hiring any new employees for any purpose – a drastic and counterproductive step that would compromise tax administration and taxpayer services. The bill is also unworkable in operation, as "seriously delinquent" debts could be as low as $1 and tax liens are recorded on a case-by-case basis. This legislation is unnecessary, as strong laws and procedures already exist to ensure that IRS employees comply with their tax obligations.
Next, H.R. 4890 would ensure that IRS executives don't receive bonuses unless it can be proven that substantial improvements have been made to the customer service offered to taxpayers -- as in, proving that they actually earned the bonus. But, again, that's unnecessary:
This bill is unnecessary, as the IRS has already developed and has begun to execute a strategy to improve taxpayer services. The real constraint on the IRS's ability to serve taxpayers effectively is severe underfunding, including for taxpayer services…
Legislation constraining the IRS's ability to retain and recruit highly qualified employees is not needed and could be counterproductive to the Service's mission.
Finally, the bill that would prohibit the IRS from hiring previous employees who were let go involuntarily for misconduct, H.R. 3724. The administration feels this one to be redundant:
The bill as written could force the immediate termination of employees who had been terminated and rehired many years ago, even if their performance since rehiring has been blemish-free. The bill's prohibition is also unnecessary because current IRS processes already ensure the agency does not rehire former employees who had significant conduct or performance problems during prior employment with the agency.
Besides the administration's resistance to these proposals, the president is going after H.R. 4885, the IRS Oversight While Eliminating Spending Act, with the promise of a veto if it reaches his desk. This bill gives Congress authority to decide how user fees imposed on taxpayers are spent by the IRS. The argument against this bill is that the IRS is in desperate need of more money and the fees help fund the bloated department. But what Obama is ignoring is that H.R. 4885 would give taxpayers back the right to say how fees they've paid are spent. That sounds ludicrous only to this administration.
As a recap, President Obama is opposed to making sure IRS executives earn their bonuses, is opposed to having the highest quality employees funneling tax dollars through, and wants to ensure that extra fees continue to be levied on taxpayers so that the IRS can try and staunch its own bleeding.
It's clear that Obama wants to ensure that his conservative targeting machine known as the IRS continues to toe the line for his agenda and that it is a fully-funded big government machine.
