August 4, 2013
08/05/13 During “Stop Government Abuse Week,” Congresswoman Jackie Walorski supported numerous bills to demand accountability from government agencies, like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and reign in overreaching regulations that are hurting our economy.
“When I talk to Hoosiers at home on the weekends, they want Congress to work on strengthening the American economy instead of adding more red tape and costly laws regulated by bloated agencies,” said Walorski. “This week the House sent a clear message to our constituents at home that we are listening to your concerns and trimming back government overreach to save taxpayer dollars and create jobs.”
Walorski co-sponsored the Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act (H.R. 2009) to prevent the IRS from implementing or enforcing any portion of Obamacare. In May, Walorski sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury and IRS requesting answers about the politically-motivated targeting of conservative groups, asking for responses to pertinent questions within 30 days. Two months later, the Treasury finally responded and offered only minimal details and no specific answers to the questions asked due to “pending investigations.”
“Americans do not trust the federal government. Recent accounts of abuse and corruption from this agency are frightening, and clearly prove that the IRS should not be leading future efforts to implement any components of Obamacare. Congress will continue demanding genuine accountability from all government agencies until they properly respect and adhere to the law and restore transparency for the public.”
Other Co-Sponsored Bills:
REINS Act (H.R. 367): Introduced by Indiana Congressman Todd Young, this bill requires a vote from Congress before major regulations costing $100 million or more could take effect, ensuring that Americans can hold their elected officials and the Executive branch accountable for overly-burdensome regulations.
STOP IRS Act (H.R. 2565): This bill expands the grounds for termination of employment of an IRS employee. This includes an IRS employee performing, delaying, or failing to perform any official action (including an audit) for political reasons or for the purpose of extracting personal gain or benefit.
Stop Playing on Citizen’s Cash Act (H.R. 2769): This bill prevents the Internal Revenue Service from holding any conference until the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration submits a report to Congress certifying that the IRS has implemented all the Inspector General’s recommendations for agency conferences.
Government Employee Accountability Act (H.R. 2579): Authorizes all federal agencies to place an employee on “investigative leave” without pay if they determine that the employee’s conduct was serious or flagrant.
Congresswoman Walorski spoke about stopping government abuse on the House floor earlier this week, watch here.