A day after a House spending panel rolled out plans to further reduce spending for the Congress, Republicans have set out a budget plan that slices 24 percent from the Internal Revenue Service and takes a chunk of money out of salaries and expenses at the White House as well.
With Republicans still livid over the targeting of Tea Party groups by the IRS, this spending plan would chop $3 billion in spending at the IRS, and limit spending in other areas until reforms recommended by the IRS watchdog have been approved.
+ The plan holds back 10% of the IRS budget until changes are made to prevent "inappropriate targeting" of groups applying for tax-exempt status
+ Funding for IRS conferences would be put on hold until internal changes are made
+ The plan would ban spending on employee bonuses and awards, as well as the production of IRS videos
The plan would also block the IRS from implementing the Obama health reform law, and block funding to enforce the individual mandate that requires Americans to purchase health insurance.
The cuts were denounced by the main union for IRS and Treasury Department employees.
The same bill, which funds the Treasury Department and a series of other agencies, would also cut $46 million in spending at the White House. Here is a run down from the House Appropriations Committee of what this proposed bill would do:
The text of the bill can be found at http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-113hr-sc-ap-fy2014-fservices-subcommitteedraft.pdf
Meanwhile, on the issue of IRS bonuses, the Acting chief of the IRS has told workers that he will move to cancel $70 million in bonuses that are due under a union contract for IRS employees. Here is the email sent by Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel to employees on Tuesday:
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2013 12:39 PM
Subject: Update on Furloughs, Budget
Today, I want to announce several important developments with regard to cost-cutting, furlough days and awards.
While we have made significant progress in cutting costs, we must be committed to doing more. To that end, and in this unprecedented budget situation, I do not believe the IRS should pay performance awards this year to employees, managers or executives. This is not a reflection of the quality or performance of the work done by you and your colleagues, but rather an unfortunate byproduct of the difficult budgetary situation we find ourselves in.
Following guidance related to sequestration issued earlier this year, leadership determined that non-bargaining unit employees and managers would not receive awards. I have now instructed my senior leadership team to determine options we can take to eliminate awards for senior executives.
In addition, it is my intention to continue to pursue eliminating award payouts this year to bargaining unit employees. This approach is consistent with government-wide policy, which requires suspension of awards during sequestration to the extent appropriate legal procedures are complied with. We will continue to fulfill our bargaining obligations by working with NTEU.
It's important to note that if awards are eliminated for bargaining unit employees this year, the IRS should be able to cancel the furlough days on July 22 and Aug. 30. We will provide an update on the status of our furlough days shortly. If the IRS cancels the remaining furlough days, all employees would be paid on those days. Even more importantly, it would mean the IRS would remain open on those days to serve taxpayers and meet the needs of the nation's tax system.
These steps are part of a wider effort at the IRS to cut costs. The IRS has taken extraordinary measures over the last several years to become more responsible in our use of taxpayer dollars. We will have absorbed $1 billion in budget reductions through savings and efficiencies between Fiscal Years 2010 and 2013. In recent months and with your assistance, the CFO office and your business units have found even more places to reduce costs.
I believe we are beginning an important new chapter in our efforts to set the IRS on a new path. It is my hope that in the coming weeks and months, we can have a robust public dialogue about the future of the IRS budget. We have demonstrated our commitment to making hard choices to reduce our spending, and we must also make it clear that the IRS needs adequate resources for the necessary investments in services and enforcement that will enable us to continue carrying out our mission to serve the American taxpayer, now and in the years ahead.
Thank you for your service and support during this challenging time.
--Danny Werfel
A day after a House spending panel rolled out plans to further reduce spending for the Congress, Republicans have set out a budget plan that slices 24 percent from the Internal Revenue Service and takes a chunk of money out of salaries and expenses at the White House as well. ...
