Kevin Brady: “Well, it's appropriate that we talk about a $600 toilet seat because, indeed, this bill smells to high heaven. The truth…”

“Well, it's appropriate that we talk about a $600 toilet seat because, indeed, this bill smells to high heaven. The truth of the matter is you will hear a lot of wild claims made on the House floor today, but in truth the Joint Taxation Committee, Congressional Budget Office, and every other independent agency has testified that passing this bill will cost the American taxpayers more than $1 billion. It is a testament that this program is working and will continue to work to save dollars for the American taxpayer by going after those who owe their taxes on behalf of those of us who pay our taxes. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 3056. This bill would eliminate a program that is actually making money for the government: overdue tax bills collected by qualified private companies from people that owe too little for the IRS to use up valuable resources in going after them. To date, the IRS has turned over 90,000 cases worth nearly half a billion dollars. And the dollars add up to the tune of $32 million collected since last month, and there's more to come. As I said, more than $1 billion over the next decade. This is money that is helping to close the tax gap and is revenue that the Treasury Department can use to hire more employees.”