White House Threatens Veto of Appropriation Bill

President Biden is promising to veto a proposed appropriations bill that would strip a heap of funding from the Department of Treasury.  Here is part of a White House statement:  

. . . 

If the President were presented with H.R. 8773, he would veto it.

The Administration would like to take this opportunity to share additional views regarding the House Appropriations Committee’s (Committee) version of the bill.

Department of the Treasury (Treasury) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Base Funding.

The Administration strongly opposes the level provided by the bill for IRS discretionary funding, a $2.2 billion reduction below the FY 2024 enacted level and the FY 2025 Budget request level. This would be the lowest nominal discretionary funding level for the IRS in 20 years. The House Republican approach to IRS funding would make it easier for wealthy tax cheats to avoid the taxes they owe and increase both the tax gap and the deficit. Such a massive reduction to IRS total funding would also put at risk the IRS’s dramatic improvements in taxpayer services, including digitalization and modernization, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act’s investment in the IRS.

The Administration also strongly opposes the partisan policy provision prohibiting the IRS from continuing Direct File, a tool that lowers costs for taxpayers by providing a free, easy, and secure way for Americans to file their Federal taxes online directly with the IRS.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The Administration strongly opposes the reduction in funding provided by the bill for FinCEN from the FY 2025 Budget request level. The bill would undermine FinCEN’s implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act, undercutting a critical anti-money laundering initiative and reducing support for the approximately 32 million small businesses that are required to file Beneficial Ownership Information with FinCEN.

Fiscal Service. The Administration strongly opposes the 13-percent reduction in funding provided by the bill for the Bureau of the Fiscal Service from the FY 2025 Budget request level. At this level, the Fiscal Service would be forced to make detrimental reductions to staffing and operations imperiling Government-wide financial management, debt collection, spending transparency, and improper payments prevention.

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The Administration strongly opposes the $48 million reduction in funding provided by the bill for the CDFI Fund from the FY 2025 Budget request level. This level would reduce funding that supports CDFIs that invest in economically distressed communities, including rural and urban areas.

Treasury Departmental Offices. The Administration is strongly opposed to a $68 million reduction in funding provided by the bill to Treasury’s Departmental Offices from the FY 2025 Budget request level, which would cause severe disruption to core offices and operations. The reduction would also significantly hamper Treasury’s ability to implement the Outbound Investment Security Program, which prohibits or requires notification of investments made by U.S. persons in certain technologies or products critical to national security.

. . . 

darryll k. jones