Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott introduced legislation Wednesday that would redirect $15 billion that was meant to help pay for 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees and spend it on security measures along the southern border instead.
The Daily Caller first obtained the legislation, which is titled the Securing Our Border Act. The bill would specifically fund border inspections to better equip law enforcement to track down drugs and other illegal items or substances before they enter the United States. The bill would also fund border wall construction and other technologies to help with tracking and enforcement efforts along the southwest border.
Additionally, the legislation would give retention bonuses to Border Patrol agents and end the “catch and release” policy.
Republicans have expressed particular concern about the more than $80 billion in new funding for the IRS. Although Democrats claim the increased funding will boost revenue and enable Congress to pay down the federal debt, GOP officials argue that middle-class and poor Americans will face more audits. The funding allows the agency to hire up to 87,000 new employees. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tim Scott Pressed The Treasury Department Over Inflation, Here’s Their ‘Unacceptable’ Response)
“We have a crisis on our southern border. Rather than putting resources in place to address this major national security and humanitarian catastrophe, the Biden administration and congressional Democrats chose instead to spend $45 billion of taxpayer money to hire an army of IRS agents to audit the middle class,” Scott told the Caller before introducing the bill.
READ THE LEGISLATION HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“While President Biden continues to drop the ball, I’m introducing legislation to fund border infrastructure and give our Border Patrol agents the tools they need to help stop the unaddressed flows of illicit goods and persons into this country. Americans need more border agents keeping them safe – not thousands more IRS agents looking over their shoulder,” Scott added. (RELATED: Tim Scott Announces Exploratory Committee For Presidential Bid)
The bill has five original cosponsors —Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Steve Daines of Montana, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and James Lankford of Oklahoma — and has been endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council, a group representing 18,000 Border Patrol agents.
