MODERNIZATION OF IRS INFORMATION SYSTEMS:

Voting 414 for and three against, the House on April 18 passed a bill (HR 5445) requiring a sweeping modernization of Internal Revenue Service information systems that would make it easier for taxpayers to communicate with the agency online and bolster cyber-defenses against large-scale hacking operations as well as smaller schemes targeting the identities and refunds of individual taxpayers. In addition, the bill puts the IRS on a path toward providing taxpayers with secure individualized portals on the agency website to be used for obtaining forms and data and filing returns. But the bill proposes no major funding increases that would help the agency, which has experienced deep budget cuts since 2010, carry out the proposed technology upgrade.

Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., said the IRS “continues to struggle with … modernization efforts to update its legacy systems, some of which date back to the 1960s. In the era of 5G and broadband Internet, it is still hard to imagine why the IRS continues to use technology our children wouldn’t even be able to recognize.”

John Lewis, D-Ga., voted for the bill but said “Congress’ decisions to cut the agency’s budget by nearly $1 billion over the past eight years have not helped” the performance of its information-technology systems. “We all understand that the IRS is in desperate need of more funding and more staff.”

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

ARKANSAS

Voting yes: Bruce Westerman, R-4

TEXAS

Voting yes: Louie Gohmert, John Ratcliffe, R-4