House Republicans are seeking to redirect funding for new Internal Revenue Service agents and instead increase border security.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) introduced legislation Wednesday that would scrap funding to overhaul the IRS with over 80,000 new jobs that are mostly for taxation enforcement provided under the $80 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed in August.
In its place, Tenney proposed the DIRECT Funds for Border Security Act, under which the funds would be reallocated to hire new Customs and Border Protection workers.
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“The Biden administration’s failure to secure the border and enforce our immigration laws has created an unmitigated disaster at our Southern Border that is impacting communities across the country,” Tenney said in a statement. “Joe Biden’s priorities could not be more twisted. Americans don’t want more IRS audits; they want a secure border and safer streets. The DIRECT Funds for Border Security Act will deliver just that by providing [Customs and Border Protection] with the money needed to hire new agents.”
Tenney said the bill would help address the great need along the southern border. She noted that the number of border encounters throughout the fiscal year of 2022 had surpassed that of former President Barack Obama’s entire administration. More than 2 million border encounters have taken place between October 2021 and August 2022, according to CBP.
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Despite the expectation that the legislation will struggle to pass the Democratic-controlled House, 11 other GOP representatives joined Tenney in co-sponsoring the bill.
They include Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Lance Gooden of Texas, Randy Weber of Texas, Pete Stauber of Minnesota, Doug Lamborn of Colorado, Buddy Carter of Georgia, Jay Obernolte of California, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Steve Chabot of Ohio, Gregory Steube of Florida, and Chris Jacobs of New York.
