Adrian Smith: “I thank my colleague from Texas for yielding me time. As Mr. Burgess pointed out, if we defeat the previous question, I…”

“I thank my colleague from Texas for yielding me time. As Mr. Burgess pointed out, if we defeat the previous question, I will move to amend the rule to make in order my amendment to strike funding for IRS enforcement activities. The administration's own Treasury Department has said this funding would be used to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. This has been verified. These agents will be focused on targeting American families, small businesses, farmers, and ranchers with audits. Families and small businesses are struggling. That is no secret. Inflation is at 8.5 percent. Food and gas prices are at record highs. Despite this bill's name, reasonable economists agree it will do nearly nothing to actually reduce inflation, especially in the near term. Small business pessimism about costs and access to workers is at all- time highs, and audits would only compound this misery. Estimates put the starting cost to a small business being audited in the range of $10,000 to $75,000. Ridiculous. That is the last thing our small businesses need, the vast majority of whom follow the law. They are law-abiding individuals and law-abiding businesses. My amendment makes the following changes to the bill. It strikes the $45 billion for enforcement activities, which include legal and litigation support, digital asset monitoring, and enforcing criminal statutes. Those are audit activities.…”