WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today introduced his second bill this week focused on cleaning up the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) following the targeting scandal and the revelation of inappropriate bonuses and performance awards to IRS employees who owe outstanding federal tax debt. The bill Roberts introduced today blocks federal employees who are delinquent on their taxes from receiving a bonus or award.

“Let me make it perfectly clear, employees who deliberately ignore the process and procedures for fulfilling their tax obligations must be held accountable,” Roberts said, “When these public employees serve at the IRS, their lack of willingness to pay their tax obligations calls into question the integrity of the agency. It’s really unconscionable that there are tax delinquents working as tax collectors.

“We should apply this standard across the federal government. As of September 2013, federal employees were delinquent on $3.4 billion in taxes. This cannot be tolerated.”

At issue is the 2014 report from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration on Internal Revenue Service on bonuses awarded to personnel who violated tax laws or who have been subject to serious infractions of employee policy.

According to the Inspector General, close to $3 million was awarded to IRS staff with violations on their records, with about half of that amount going to people with tax violations on their record.

Other personnel at the IRS received cash bonuses or other awards despite being cited for using drug, making violent threats, fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits, and misusing government credit cards.

In fact, the report indicates that close to 70 percent of IRS personnel receive some sort of performance reward.

The Roberts bill, the “Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act” would require federal employees to be current on their federal income taxes, and would prevent federal personnel who are delinquent in paying a federal tax liability from receiving a bonus or cash award. Exceptions are made for tax debt being paid pursuant to an agreement with the IRS and for certain hardships.

Earlier this week, Senator Roberts took aim at the scandal ridden IRS by introducing a bicameral bill with Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL).  The Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act would stop cold further attempts by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to exploit bureaucratic loopholes to restrict the free speech rights of the same types of tax-exempt social welfare organizations victimized in the IRS political targeting scandal.

Click Here to Watch Senator Roberts Floor Remarks on the Introduction of the

Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_aMybDXjiE&list=UURpswvC8LgxzE9AYSFpqUgw

Senators Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance.

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