(The Guardian) Republican House speaker Johnson praises proposal to cut IRS, Covid-19 funding, says deal 'will not satisfy everyone'
In a letter to colleagues announcing a tentative agreement with Democrats on government spending, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson noted that the deal “will not satisfy everyone”, while pointing out that it would cut the budget of the IRS tax authority as well as rescind aid money allocated to respond to Covid-19.
“After many weeks of dialogue and debate, we have secured hard-fought concessions to unlock the [fiscal year] 24 topline numbers and allow the Appropriations Committee to finally begin negotiating and completing the twelve annual appropriations bills,” the speaker wrote yesterday.
He noted, “the concessions we achieved will include an additional $10 billion in cuts to the IRS mandatory funding (for a total of $20 billion), which was a key part of the Democrats’ ‘Inflation Reduction Act.’ In addition, we will cut $6.1 billion from the Biden’s Administration’s continued COVID-era slush funds, which we achieved despite fierce opposition from the White House. The result is real savings to American taxpayers and real reductions in the federal bureaucracy.”
Joe Biden and congressional Democrats won approval for $80b in funding for the IRS in 2022, but Republicans have proposed rescinding it, even though doing so would increase the federal budget deficit.
“While work on finalizing appropriations must move quickly now, it is important to note that negotiations will be informed by the most robust House and Senate appropriations process we have seen in years, driven by the hard work and pressure exerted by this Republican Conference,” the speaker concluded.
In a letter to colleagues announcing a tentative agreement with Democrats on government spending, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson noted that the deal “will not satisfy everyone”, while pointing out that it would cut the budget of the IRS tax authority as well as rescind aid money allocated to respond to Covid-19.
“After many weeks of dialogue and debate, we have secured hard-fought concessions to unlock the [fiscal year] 24 topline numbers and allow the Appropriations Committee to finally begin negotiating and completing the twelve annual appropriations bills,” the speaker wrote yesterday.
He noted, “the concessions we achieved will include an additional $10 billion in cuts to the IRS mandatory funding (for a total of $20 billion), which was a key part of the Democrats’ ‘Inflation Reduction Act.’ In addition, we will cut $6.1 billion from the Biden’s Administration’s continued COVID-era slush funds, which we achieved despite fierce opposition from the White House. The result is real savings to American taxpayers and real reductions in the federal bureaucracy.”
Joe Biden and congressional Democrats won approval for $80b in funding for the IRS in 2022, but Republicans have proposed rescinding it, even though doing so would increase the federal budget deficit.
“While work on finalizing appropriations must move quickly now, it is important to note that negotiations will be informed by the most robust House and Senate appropriations process we have seen in years, driven by the hard work and pressure exerted by this Republican Conference,” the speaker concluded.
