Republicans Seek to Divert IRS Enforcement Funding Boost for Border Security

Migrants walk along the U.S. border fence to turn themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico in El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 21, 2022. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

House Republicans have released a draft bill that would halt the nearly $50 billion funding boost for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement in the “Inflation Reduction Act” and instead use the money to bolster border security.

Called the “Diverting IRS Resources to the Exigent Crisis Through (DIRECT) Funds for Border Security Act” (pdf), the legislation seeks to stop “Biden’s new IRS army from launching audits of middle-class families” and instead use the funds to hire more U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, according to a press release.