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WASHINGTON – Tonight Rep. Ron Estes voted in favor of H.R. 23 – the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act. The bill passed 221 to 210. Before the vote, Rep. Estes spoke on the House floor in support of the legislation.

"The Kansans I represent need relief from the high gas prices and rampant inflation caused by the current administration and one-party rule," said Rep. Estes. "My constituents don’t need a super-charged IRS that will investigate their transactions between friends and sic 87,000 new agents on them."

Watch Rep. Estes remarks on the House floor

Republicans are blocking the Biden administration from unleashing 87,000 new IRS agents to go after families and small businesses and their unprecedented increase in IRS audits. The Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act rescinds all new IRS funding for squeezing middle-class families and small businesses while enhancing the services Americans expect to receive from their government.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, Democrats’ supercharged IRS will cause audit rates to "rise for all taxpayers," and a conservative analysis shows that returning audit rates to 2010 levels would mean 1.2 million more audits, with more than 700,000 of those falling on taxpayers making $75,000 or less.

Full Remarks:
Mr. Speaker, I’m pleased today to rise in support of common sense legislation that puts the American people ahead of padding the coffers of the IRS.

It wasn’t long ago that Washington was under one-party rule. This chamber was recently under the leadership of the Democrat party that worked to give D.C. bureaucrats more power and wanted to hire an army of IRS agents to harass and audit my constituents while ignoring the need for more border agents to address the crisis at our southern border.

Congressman Smith’s legislation eliminates the devastating IRS provisions that Democrats snuck into their so-called Inflation Reduction Act by rescinding the funding to this D.C. agency.

The facts are that middle and lower-income people are audited more by IRS agents by design of the IRS.

The Kansans I represent need relief from high gas prices and rampant inflation caused by the current administration and one-party rule. My constituents don’t need a super-charged IRS that will investigate their transactions between friends and sic 87,000 new agents on them.

The bill, as the first bill that the new Congress addresses, puts our priorities on full display – Republicans are ready to restore our nation and hold our government accountable. With that, I yield back.