Burr, Roberts outline need to correct IRS misconduct, instill oversight during Mnuchin confirmation hearing

Steven Mnuchin

U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) highlighted the need to correct IRS misconduct and oversight lapses on Thursday during a confirmation hearing for Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin.

Burr, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, made clear during the hearing that cleaning up IRS misconduct — in particular the practices of rewarding IRS employees who don’t pay taxes and rehiring previously fired employees — have long been priorities of his.

“In April 2014 the Treasury (Inspector General) came out with a study, he found that the Internal Revenue Service had paid out $2.8 million in bonuses, as well as tens of thousands of hours of leave, and hundreds of pay step increases to employees who were tax delinquent or had committed serious misconduct, including fraud and drug abuse,” Burr said.

Burr also noted a report from December 2014 that found the IRS had “repeatedly hired employees who were fired for poor conduct and performance after lengthy examination processes on their employment.”

Mnuchin said he would commit to work with Burr to correct how the IRS deals with employee misconduct and fraud, calling it “the most commonsense thing I’ve ever heard.”

Roberts, also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said IRS needed to be reined in with more stringent oversight that would take politics out of the agency.

“It is clear to me that the previous administration used the IRS as a political weapon to target groups and organizations whose views were differed from the president,” Roberts said. “This is beyond alarming.”

Roberts, who has introduced various pieces of legislation to prevent the IRS from targeting political groups, added, “the damage caused by these actions is remarkable and likely long lasting.”

“This issue has never just been about IRS practice and procedure, nor just the interpretation of a vaguely drawn statute,” Roberts said. “This has always been about the First Amendment, protecting those rights, and preventing the government from restricting them.”