Stephen Moore: Republicans Should Say No To Any Budget That Funds 87,000 IRS Agents

The biggest promise made by Republicans during the 2022 election cycle was that, if they win a majority of seats in the House they would defund the $80billion Biden wanted to pay 87,000 IRS agents.

They are now close to reaching an $1.7 trillion Omnibus Spending Deal with President Joe Biden (D-NY), to fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year. This includes all funding for the IRS expansion.

The 4,000-page, end-of-year bill is terrible at every level. It will increase the deficit and the size of government agencies, as well as impose no spending cuts. Senate Republicans also plan to remove Congress’ self-imposed legal limitations on government spending. If enforced, this would result in $130 billion of budget cuts. Cutting 3% of the excess debt spending, which should be painless, is the first step in restoring fiscal sustainability in Washington.

Worst of all, this Omnibus Spending Act would authorize the IRS to grow twice as big and more intrusive than it currently is. This is precisely what Republicans promised.

This will allow the IRS to monitor transactions as low as $600, which is the price of a household appliance and a round-trip airfare ticket. Due to the IRS’s recent abuses, this plan will increase harassment of law-abiding residents. As Lois Lerner, an IRS enforcement official under President Barack Obama witnessed, the IRS was weaponized against anyone with political views that were not in line with the administration’s.

We are particularly concerned about the

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