Read the letter top conservatives looking to slash IRS funding are sending to McConnell in effort to kill Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal
- Conservative groups are escalating their opposition to Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal.
- They're taking aim at provisions to increase IRS funding after years of GOP-led budget cuts.
- They're sending a letter to GOP leaders like McConnell, which can be read below.
Prominent conservative groups are gearing up to pressure Republicans to oppose President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal, blasting it as a "basic betrayal of conservative values."
The groups leading the effort include FreedomWorks, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, the Conservative Action Project, and the Leadership Institute.
They are sending a letter to GOP congressional leaders including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Rep. Steve Scalise, the second-ranked Republican in the House. Insider obtained a copy of the letter, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
Stephen Moore, one of the signatories, assailed the extra IRS funding in the bipartisan infrastructure deal. "The Republicans should be for less spending on the IRS, not more," Moore said in an interview.
According to Moore, who was previously nominated by President Donald Trump to the Federal Reserve before withdrawing his name, "It would be a total betrayal to fund the IRS with more money."
Both Democrats and some Republicans support strengthening the IRS after years of GOP-led budget cuts that weakened the agency's basic ability to collect taxes. Many cite a persistent tax gap, or the gulf between taxes owed and collected. Charles Rettig, the agency's commissioner, has said the figure could amount to over $1 trillion per year.
A bombshell ProPublica report also revealed the extent to which America's wealthiest are legally able to pay very little in taxes. It kickstarted discussions of potential tax reform, and prompted five former treasury secretaries to write a New York Times opinion piece on the necessity of bolstering the IRS.