The Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act (HR 709) Passes House on Tax Day

In honor of Tax Day, the House of Representatives recently passed a series of bills to increase IRS accountability and protect taxpayers.  One of the bills that was passed out of the House was HR 709, the “Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act.”

The Act would expand existing grounds for termination of the employment of an IRS employee to include “performing, delaying, or failing to perform (or threatening to perform, delay, or fail to perform) any official action (including any audit) with respect to a taxpayer for the purpose of extracting personal gain or for a political purpose.”

Sponsored by Representative Jim Renacci (R-OH), Renacci stated:

“The Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act adds political targeting to the list of fireable offenses at the IRS. I was proud to see the Ways & Means Committee unanimously approve this commonsense legislation as it is a step in the right direction to restoring a federal government that is accountable to the American people – and not the other way around.”

On July 31, 2013, the Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act, formerly known as the “STOP IRS Act,” passed the House of Representatives without opposition, but it never received a vote in the Senate.

Currently, HR 709 has 54 bipartisan co-sponsors. This bipartisan support proves that the recent IRS events were wrong, and even Democrats want to stop it from happening again. With such bipartisan support, this bill should become law.