On the recordJune 24, 2010
I am going to urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question so that I can amend the rule to allow all Members of Congress the opportunity to vote to cut spending. Republican Whip Eric Cantor recently launched the YouCut initiative which gives people an opportunity to vote for Federal spending they would like to see Congress cut. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have cast their votes, and this week they've directed their Representatives in Congress to consider H.R. 5570. According to the Republican whip's YouCut Web site, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that ``over the next 10 years, the IRS will require between $5 billion and $10 billion in funding to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the new health care law. These funds will be used to hire thousands of additional IRS agents and employees. Reforming our health care system shouldn't require expanding the IRS. By prohibiting funding for the expansion of the IRS for this purpose, we can protect taxpayers while we work to repeal and replace the law. H.R. 5570 would prohibit taxpayer funds from being appropriated to the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of hiring new agents to enforce the Democrats' health care law.
