GOP Leader Says IRS Could ‘Harass Middle Class’, Target Conservatives, If Manchin’s Bill Passes

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) hit back at President Biden over a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that would spend billions of dollars to hire thousands of new IRS agents and warned that the new bureaucrats could be used to target conservative groups.

If passed, tens of billions of dollars in the bill would go toward hiring 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents. The bill passed the Senate on Sunday with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. It now heads to the House for a likely vote later this week.

“Joe Biden is building an army of IRS agents to harass and intimidate the middle class. It’s something that should concern every American taxpayer. The IRS targeted conservatives during the administration of ‘Obama, so it’s fair to wonder if Joe Biden will use his new IRS army to attack conservatives,’ NRCC Chairman Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said in an exclusive statement provided to Fox News Digital.

REPUBLICANS SAYS DEMOCRATS WILL ‘PAY THE PRICE’ IN MEANS TO PASS MASSIVE SPENDING BILL

Senator Joe Manchin has denied claims that the Inflation Reduction Act will raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 a year.
(Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Emmer, who according to Politico is rumored to be running for House GOP Whip, may have reason to sound the alarm about the IRS target if Republicans take back the House in November. In 2013, the tax collection agency was accused of delaying and adding extra scrutiny to the processing of applications for nonprofit tax status by conservative organizations. After a two-year investigation by the FBI, the Justice Department announced that it declined to seek criminal charges related to the case.

DEMOCRATS’ INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS ‘ECONOMIC MALPRACTICE’: ECONOMIST

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., introduced the Inflation Relief Act of 2022 after months of negotiations. In addition to the new IRS agents, the bill spends hundreds or billions of dollars on a litany of Democratic Party spending priorities, including climate change and green energy.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin introduced the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Despite the name of the bill, it is unclear whether the legislation will have any significant impact on reducing inflation.

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) reported that Americans earning less than $400,000 a year would have seen their taxes increase as a result of the act. The committee also concluded that the new bill would increase tax revenue by $16.7 billion for Americans making less than $200,000 a year.

Senator Bernie Sanders agreed with Republicans that the new bill would have little impact on inflation.

Speaking on the Senate floor before the vote, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., referred to the bill as the “so-called” Inflation Relief Act, and acknowledged that it would have “minimal impact” in reducing inflation.

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A member of the House of Representatives is expected to return to Washington, DC, to debate and vote on the bill as early as Friday.