House vote to deny IRS hiring 87K new agents causes internet uproar: 'Which side are you on?'

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We need more Border Patrol agents, not IRS agents: Mark Green

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., weighs in the House GOP-push to block the hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents and a new rules package on 'Fox News @ Night.' 

Twitter users reacted strongly to the new Republican-majority House passing a bill to curb the proposed 87,000 personnel increase at the IRS.

Fox News Digital reported Monday that Congress voted to "rescind more than $70 billion in funding to the Internal Revenue Service," a fulfillment of "newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's promise to prevent the agency from hiring tens of thousands of new agents."

Titled the "Family and Small Business and Taxpayer Protection Act," the bill passed the House of Representatives with 221 members for it, and 210 against it.

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Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, during a meeting of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.  (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Most Republicans voted to pass the bill, while most Democrats voted to stop it.

The proposal of adding 87,000 IRS agents to the agency became a contentious topic when it was announced last summer as being part of the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. The act, which Biden signed into law in August, was set to provide over $80 billion in funding for the IRS for the next decade, which includes expanding the agency’s manpower.

The Republicans' first sponsored bill after taking control of the House, took aim at these provisions, proposing to roll back billions of dollars in this IRS expansion. The bill pleased Republicans and angered Democrats. 

Outspoken Hollywood conservative Rob Schneider tweeted, "The Biden Administration would rather tax the s**t out of hard-working Americans and send another 100 billion to Ukraine… Thankfully, House votes to rescind billions in funding to the IRS in first major majority action with McCarthy as Speaker."

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Immigration lawyer and conservative influencer Matthew Kolken bashed Democrats who opposed the new GOP bill, stating, "When you get your audit notification from the IRS remember who voted for it, and who tried to protect you from it. Democrats stand with the 87,000 IRS agents. Republicans stand with working class Americans. Which side are you on?"

Though Babylon Bee managing editor Joel Berry was less convinced that the bill would actually do anything. He wrote, "The 87,000 IRS agents will not be repealed by the Senate. The days of impotent message votes designed to fuel reelection campaigns are upon us."

This photo taken April 13, 2014 shows the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

Washington Post fact-checking chief Glenn Kessler did not buy the usefulness of the bill, tweeting, "Reminder: A bill requires passage in both houses of Congress and then a presidential signature. The IRS funding is locked in as mandatory spending. (and it's not 87,000 ‘agents’ -- that's been debunked repeatedly)."

Investor and conservative influencer Collin Rugg offered an alternative to funding the paychecks of thousands of IRS agents. He tweeted, "The U.S. House just voted 221-210 to rescind the over $70 billion in new funding for 87,000 IRS agents. They should take that money and build a border wall instead."

Conservative activist Dr. Andrew Jackson berated Democrats over not supporting the Republican-sponsored bill. He wrote, "Not one Democrat in the U.S. House voted to repeal funding for 87,000 new IRS agents. I grew up in a Seattle Democrat, working class family. We were liberals and fought for workers. But Democrats today are leftists and are sold out to the government machine."

Townhall.com political editor Guy Benson tweeted, "Democrats voted en masse to protect the vast expansion of the IRS, which is already disproportionately targeting lower-income Americans — which Dems swore wouldn’t be the case. They lied."

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., defended the proposed increase of IRS agents, tweeting, "The Senate Democratic Majority knows this is a giveaway to the multi-millionaires and big corporations, and Democrats won’t let it happen. The increased IRS personnel are aimed at closing loopholes and forcing the wealthy and well-connected to finally pay their fair share."

President Biden speaks about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)