Ander Crenshaw's IRS Cuts Pass the House

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, managed $1.1 billion in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cuts into the Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill (HR 5016). The bill passed the full House on Wednesday.

When your report card is nothing but a long list of bad grades, you should not be rewarded. This legislation forces the Internal Revenue Service back to the books for some homework -- lots of it -- to clean up its act, said Crenshaw after the vote. In that process, Americans received a commitment from Congress today to hold the Internal Revenue Service accountable for every taxpayer dollar it spends, to protect constitutional rights, and to rein in out-of-control spending.

Crenshaw noted recent IRS abuses including targeting conservative and tea party groups and noted his bill would help keep the agency from being used to fund President Barack Obamas health-care law.

By cutting IRS funding to its lowest levels since 2003, the bill forces the agency to focus on its core mission, Crenshaw said. No more meddling in Americans health care, suppressing free speech of nonprofits, targeting groups based on political belief, or squandering money on bonuses for tax cheats, silly videos and lavish conferences.

With so many troubles afoot, the IRS should not be in the health-care business, Crenshaw added. Thats why the bill expressly prohibits the use of funds or additional funding for the implementation of Obamacare. Moreover, to protect Americans from having their constitutional rights abused, weve prohibited the use of funding for targeting groups based on political belief.

I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who supported this bill, said Crenshaw in conclusion. In large and small communities across this country, its fair to say that you dont get rewarded for poor performance. The same must hold true for the federal government. We have a long way to go, but I am proud to have helped begun to put the Internal Revenue Service on track.