Bipartisan senators agree to new infrastructure pay-fors after dropping IRS enforcement
IRS enforcement emerged as major point of contention in bipartisan infrastructure talks
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., discusses major vote on infrastructure bill and the Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending plan, arguing the legislation will 'fuel inflation' and 'make people more dependent on the government.'
Bipartisan lawmakers trying to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill have agreed to a new revenue-raising measure after dropping a provision to toughen tax enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service, Sen. Jon Tester said Monday.
Tester, a Democrat from Montana, said that negotiators figured out a pay-for to replace the IRS enforcement, though he declined to specify what it is, according to an NBC News reporter.
Increasing IRS enforcement of tax collection to pay for the $579 billion in new funding emerged as a major point of contention among the 22 senators working in the bipartisan group, with Republican lawmakers lining up against the proposal. The deal would have provided an additional $40 billion in funding for the IRS, which has seen dwindling resources and decades of budget cuts.
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Recent IRS research shows that between 2011 and 2013, the agency reported an annual loss of about $441 billion due to tax cheats.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Sunday that increasing IRS enforcement was officially off the table – leaving a funding deficit of up to $100 billion.
"One reason it's not part of the proposal is that we did have pushback," Portman, a lead GOP negotiator, said during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union. "Another reason is that we found out that the Democrats were going to put a proposal into the reconciliation package which was not just similar to the one we had, but with a lot more IRS enforcement. So that created quite a problem."
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Other sources of funding include redirecting unused federal unemployment money from the 26 states that are prematurely ending the relief program and repurposing other COVID-relief measures.
The proposed framework focuses on "core" infrastructure projects and would allocate billions for roads and bridges, rails including Amtrak, public transit, broadband infrastructure and power, including grid authority, and other areas.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer set a Wednesday deadline for a procedural vote to begin debate on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, although it's unclear whether lawmakers will meet the target. Porter said Monday that lawmakers may not have legislation ready by Wednesday, meaning lawmakers would have to stay in Washington during the August recess.
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"It's hard to say, it's not looking like that but it could," Tester said. "I still think it could come together."
Democrats are separately trying to pass a $3.5 trillion plan using a procedural tool known as budget reconciliation, allowing them to bypass a 60-vote filibuster by Republicans. The measure would dramatically expand the social safety net and would be paid for by higher taxes on wealthy Americans.