Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Lamar Smith (TX-21) today joined House Republicans in voting on several bills to stop government abuse at federal agencies, including the IRS.
Specifically, the House of Representatives passed legislation to prevent the IRS from implementing any portion of Obamacare. The House approved a bill that allows for the termination of IRS employees who use their official positions for political purposes. And the House supported legislation to impose a moratorium on IRS conferences in light of the Inspector General’s findings that the agency failed to adopt reforms necessary to prevent waste and abuse of taxpayer funds.
Congressman Smith: “This is just the beginning of our efforts to restore accountability and responsibility to the IRS. Under the Obama administration, it is clear that the IRS is an agency run amok.
“IRS officials abused their authority to discriminate against conservative organizations and subject them to additional scrutiny. The agency wasted taxpayer dollars on lavish ‘training’ conferences, spending nearly $50 million from 2010-2012. Other officials were caught using government credit cards to make personal purchases, including books, dinners and even diet pills. Nearly 5,000 IRS credit cards racked up over $100 million in unauthorized purchases. And these are just a few of the scandals facing the organization.
“The actions of the IRS are inexcusable and possibly criminal. The agency and its employees must be held accountable. They are supposed to serve the American people, not take advantage of American taxpayers by abusing their authority.
“Today’s vote is a step in the right direction, but we have a long way to go to address the problems at the IRS. We need a special prosecutor to conduct a full, fair and non-partisan investigation into the allegations surrounding the agency. And if federal employees are found to have violated the law, they should not only lose their jobs, they must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
