U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a collection of bills that would rein in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and hold the agency accountable to Americans:  

“Even though tax day has come and gone, it is still the priority of the House to make the IRS more accountable to the American people. This week, the House passed four pieces of legislation that would improve customer service, prevent fraud, and ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately. I am proud to support today’s bills as they take the steps in the right direction to rein in the IRS. Even though tax day is over, we must continue to focus our attention on improving the IRS for all Americans.”

H.R. 4885 would repeal a provision of current law that allows the IRS to divert user fees from taxpayer services to Obamacare enforcement. The bill requires that all IRS user fees collected be deposited into the general fund of the Department of the Treasury and be subject to Congressional appropriations.

H.R. 1206 would suspend the hiring of new IRS employees unless the Treasury Secretary certifies that no IRS employees have serious tax delinquencies with respect to their own tax obligations.

H.R. 4890 would prohibit the IRS from paying bonuses to any employee until it creates and submits to Congress a comprehensive strategy to improve customer service.

H.R. 3274 would prohibit the IRS from rehiring any former employee of the agency that was fired for cause.