A sustained portion of the committee markup focused on funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Ranking members and other Democrats described large cuts to IRS enforcement and taxpayer services in the draft bill as likely to increase the tax gap and shift the burden to middle-income taxpayers. Rep. Steny Hoyer and others cited analyses suggesting each dollar invested in enforcement yields multiple dollars in revenue return and warned that deep cuts to enforcement would reduce IRS audits of high-income filers.

Members also debated the future of the IRS direct file pilot, an IRS-run free online filing option that supporters said saved participating taxpayers money. Several Democrats noted the program saved taxpayers fees and improved access; advocates argued repealing or eliminating direct file makes filing more costly for ordinary taxpayers.

A separate amendment to restore $2.4 billion in IRS enforcement funding was offered by Rep. Hoyer; he later withdrew the amendment after debate and a recognition that the committee could not pass the change in the current posture of negotiations. Outside the IRS-specific debate, members also discussed changes to the federal workforce's pay and a proposed civilian cost-of-living adjustment, which were not adopted in the form advanced by some members.

Quote
"That will make it easier for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations to avoid paying what they owe," Rep. Steny Hoyer said of the committee's proposed IRS enforcement cuts.

Provenance
- topicintro: transcript block at s=2837.8 (Hoyer critique of IRS cuts)
- topfinish: transcript block at s=16904.51 (Hoyer withdrawal of amendment)