Barrasso: IRS hires thousands to enforce Obamacare tax on Americans
by Wyoming Senator John Barrasso
July 16, 2012
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the individual mandate in the President’s health care law is a tax. The decision makes it clear that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will now play an unprecedented role in America’s health care system.
The Associated Press recently reported that the IRS is slated to spend $881 million and will hire more than 2,700 new workers just to implement the law from 2010-2013.
Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) said that the American people deserve a health care law that lowers costs – not raises their taxes.
Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate:
"The Supreme Court issued its historic decision on the President’s health care law. The Court confirmed that the individual mandate in the President’s health care law is a tax.
"The President said it wasn't a tax, but I will just tell you the Supreme Court confirmed that it is in fact a tax.
"And the decision makes it clear that the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS, will now play an unprecedented role in America’s health care system.
"That is not something that the American citizens have asked for or want—but it is something many American citizens fear.
"Recently, the Associated Press highlighted this concern in an article titled ‘Tax Man Cometh to Police You on Health Care.’
"The article points out that the health care law contains the largest set of tax changes in more than 20 years.
"To be specific, according to the Congressional Budget Office, there are at least 18 separate taxes contained in the health care law. These taxes are expected to cost taxpayers more than $500 million over the next ten years.
"The Associated Press points out that the IRS Is expected to spend over $880 million just to implement the law from 2010 to 2013. And to do this, they're going to hire more than 2,700 new government workers.
"This could be just the tip of the iceberg. According to a report issued by the House Ways and Means Committee, the Internal Revenue Service may need as many as 16,500 additional bureaucrats to enforce the President’s health care law, now the President’s health care tax.
"One of these taxes that the agents are going to be enforcing is something called the individual mandate. This is the part of the law that forces every American to have health insurance.
"They need to purchase government-approved health insurance. Not necessarily something that that family thinks is right for them and their needs and their insurance and their family. No, that's not good enough.
"They have to purchase government-approved insurance, and the IRS Is going to check on them to make sure that they do.
"According to the Congressional Budget Office, 77% of those forced to pay the tax will be people making less than $120,000 a year.
"President Obama repeatedly promised that he would not raise taxes on the middle class. Specifically, he promised that no family making less than $250,000 a year would see any form of tax increase.
"But when the President’s lawyers went before the Supreme Court, they did just the opposite. They argued that this mandate was indeed a tax.
"So as it turns out, the majority of the Supreme Court agreed that the mandate was constitutional but only, only because it's a tax.
"In short, the Supreme Court confirmed that the President has broken his promise to middle-class families, and it's the promise that he made to not raise taxes.
"While supporters of the health care law may support using the IRS To scare people into getting health insurance, most Americans don't think that this is the right policy for our country.
"Back when Congress was debating this health care law, the American people were looking for reform, health care reform that would actually lower the cost of care—not raise their taxes.
"They wanted a law that helped train more doctors and more nurses to take care of them, not more tax collectors to look into their life and their records.
"The last thing they want is the IRS Breathing down their neck and banging down their doors. But, that's what the American people have gotten through the President’s health care law.
"And that's what they are stuck with unless Congress and the White House repeal and replace this flawed and failed law."
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