Press Releases

Today, Reps. Ron Estes (R-Kansas), David Kustoff (R-Tennessee) and eight additional Ways and Means colleagues sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel communicating questions and concerns about the telework policies of the IRS.
 
"The IRS has a duty to provide reliable service to hardworking American taxpayers who are trying to follow the rules by paying their taxes – if working remotely is the main obstacle blocking delivery of that goal, something must change," said Rep. Estes. "I hope Commissioner Werfel sees the concerns our letter presents and not only answers our questions, but adjusts IRS telework policy accordingly."
 
In addition to Estes and Kustoff, the letter was signed by Reps. David Schweikert (R-Arizona), Claudia Tenney (R-New York), Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania), Michelle Fischbach (R-Minnesota), Michelle Steel (R-California), Lloyd Smucker (R-Pennsylvania), Adrian Smith (R-Nebraska) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas). You can read the full text of the letter to Commissioner Werfel here.
 
In a February Ways and Means Committee hearing Rep. Estes shared the challenging experience faced by a constituent who was trying to contact the IRS and, in response, Commissioner Werfel admitted that IRS staffing was about 50% in-person and 50% remote. Following this admission, Rep. Estes further examined the problems posed by the current IRS telework regime in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. While Rep. Estes doesn’t consider telework to be inherently unproductive, the IRS has failed to deliver basic customer service and data security under its telework policy.