Financial Services and General Government (114th Congress)
Membership
Rep. Mike Quigley, Ranking Member
Rep. José Serrano
Rep. Matt Cartwright
Rep. Sanford Bishop
Jurisdiction
Department of the Treasury
District of Columbia
The Judiciary
Executive Office of the President
Compensation of the President
Council of Economic Advisers
Executive Residence at the White House
Federal Drug Control Programs
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program
National Security Council
Office of Administration
Office of Management and Budget
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Office of Policy Development
Official Residence of the Vice President
Special Assistance to the President
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
Unanticipated Needs
White House Office
White House Repair and Restoration
Independent Agencies
Administrative Conference of the United States
Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Election Assistance Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General
Federal Election Commission
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Trade Commission
General Services Administration
Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation
Merit Systems Protection Board
Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation
National Archives and Records Administration
National Credit Union Administration
National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Personnel Management and Related Trust Funds
Office of Special Counsel
Securities and Exchange Commission
Selective Service System
Small Business Administration
United States Postal Service, Payment to the Postal Service Fund, Postal Regulatory Commission and Office of Inspector General
United States Tax Court
General Provisions, Governmentwide
The 2016 Financial Services & General Government Appropriations bill is merely a vehicle for accomplishing the most extreme policy priorities of the Republican majority. It would undermine key elements of the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank financial reform, diminish women's access to legal health services, meddle in the District of Columbia's internal affairs, undermine the President's Cuba policy, and prevent fair treatment of internet content to benefit the interests of a few large corporations. The bill rewards tax cheats – not honest hardworking Americans – by failing to provide sufficient funding to enforce tax law and assist taxpayers.
Highlights of 2016 Financial Services & General Government Appropriations bill:
2015 enacted: $21.57 billion
2016 President's request: $25.05 billion
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Let me begin by thanking you for the way you have conducted this subcommittee. You have been fair with our side throughout this year's appropriations process, and although there are lots of things here that we don't agree on, you have always sought out our opinion and attempted to find the middle ground where it was available.
I also want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for all the hours they have put into creating this bill and report. We are all thankful for the time and energy they have put into this endeavor.
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would also like to welcome Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen back before the subcommittee.
We are here today at a very serious time for the Internal Revenue Service. Last year, the IRS budget was cut by $346 million dollars, leaving the agency at the lowest level of funding since fiscal year 2008. Since fiscal year 2010, the IRS has been cut by more than $1.2 billion. And if some in the other party had had their way, they would have been cut even further.
The results of these cuts are predictable. Is it a surprise to anyone that the IRS telephone response rates have plummeted? Is it news to anyone that the IRS is unlikely to collect as many taxes when we reduce their funding in such a ham-handed way?