Congressman Mike Turner, a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has introduced The Stop Internal Resource Slush Fund (IRS) Act. The Stop IRS Act is a straightforward, commonsense measure that seeks to achieve two important policy goals – putting an end to government slush funds and reducing the federal deficit.
“My bill prohibits the IRS from using back door budgeting to create the slush funds they used to throw themselves lavish parties at taxpayer expense. These are the public servants we entrust to safeguard taxpayer dollars, not to spend them on frivolous activities,” said Turner.
Specifically, the Stop IRS Act would prohibit the IRS from transferring or reprogramming funds derived from: Congressional appropriations for salaries, expenses, and personnel; user fees; and reimbursable programs. Additionally, the Stop IRS Act would require that any unused funds from these sources are rescinded and returned to the Treasury Department for the sole purpose of deficit reduction. The Stop IRS Act would require that those funds be returned within ninety (90) days of the end of the fiscal year in which the funds were available to the IRS.
“Like most Americans, I am appalled by the behavior we have seen at the IRS. From targeting to partying, the Administration has clearly allowed the IRS to spin wildly out of control,” added Turner.
At a hearing last week, Turner took IRS officials to task for their mismanagement and waste of taxpayer dollars by the agency entrusted to collect them. In his line of questioning, Turner uncovered that a slush fund paid for the conference. The taxpayer dollars were actually intended to be used for personnel, not a party. The Treasury Inspector General noted that if the dollars weren’t used, it would have been returned to the Treasury Department.
NOTE: A Copy of the text of the legislation can be found here.