IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and counterpart on tax policy, Mr. Thompson. We worked very closely on this. We have a genuine concern that we get this right, so the American people understand that we are not overlooking what is taking place.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank our committee chairman for his recognition of the important role whistleblowers play at the IRS and his support for getting the bill before the House today.

Our tax system depends on voluntary compliance, and that only works when Americans trust that the system is fair and enforced evenly. When bad actors cheat and get away with it, that trust erodes for everyone else who plays by the rules.

The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act builds on a proven program that delivers results for our taxpayers. Since 2007, the program has recovered more than $7.37 billion in unpaid taxes, narrowing the tax gap and holding bad actors accountable.

This is real money returned to the Treasury that would otherwise have been lost. In many cases, these are complex, high-dollar schemes that would not have been identified without insider information, proving that whistleblowers play an essential role in upholding the integrity of our tax code.

When individuals come forward to expose wrongdoing by tax cheats and fraudsters, they help to ensure our volunteer tax system remains fair for all Americans.

The IRS cannot fully close the tax gap through traditional audits alone. The IRS Whistleblower Program leverages insider knowledge to identify noncompliance that would otherwise have gone undetected.

Whistleblowers help the IRS to target enforcement resources toward high-value cases, improving efficiency and accountability across the system. This program directs those resources toward the highest-value, highest-probability cases, maximizing the impact and improving efficiency. It allows the IRS to focus on those who are actively evading taxes, rather than casting a wide net over the vast majority of Americans who are trying to comply with the law.

Strengthening this program is a commonsense way to increase the return on an investment and recovering more unpaid taxes without expanding broad-based enforcement. Just as important, the program serves as a powerful deterrent, discouraging sophisticated tax evasion before it happens by increasing the likelihood that it would be exposed.

Mr. Speaker, this bill reinforces the program's foundation with targeted, practical updates by ensuring that the U.S. Tax Court can consider all relevant evidence by providing a more favorable standard of review in whistleblower appeals, establishing a presumption of anonymity for whistleblowers to help protect individuals from retaliation, encouraging timely administration from the IRS by requiring the payment of interest on delayed awards, strengthening transparency and oversight by improving reporting to Congress and allowing administrative review of award determinations, and aligning the tax treatment of attorneys' fees for whistleblowers with other whistleblower programs.

These reforms keep the program focused, predictable, and effective, addressing longstanding delays and improving program credibility.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ways and Means Committee staff on both sides of the aisle for working so hard on this because they did a great job, not just for Mr. Thompson and myself but for all of the taxpayers. The American taxpayers deserve this oversight, and I am glad we are working on it. Mr. Thompson did a great job.

This bill passed out of the Ways and Means Committee last month with unanimous support, reflecting broad agreement on the need to strengthen this program. Ensuring a fair shake for all taxpayers is what it comes down to.

I thank the National Whistleblower Center, Empower Oversight, Taxpayers

Against Fraud, the National Taxpayers Union, and other organizations who have spoken out in support of this bill. A strong whistleblower program is essential to a credible tax system, one that rewards honesty, deters misconduct, and holds bad actors accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation and thank my colleague Mike Kelly for working with me on this effort. Our bill is a good one.

Mr. Speaker, let's be honest about where we are right now. We ask Americans to comply with one of the most complex tax systems in the world. We expect them to report accurately, pay what they owe, and follow the rules to the letter. The vast majority of Americans do exactly that, but we also know that there are individuals and entities who exploit that complexity to cheat the system. They hide income, manipulate structures, and take advantage of gaps that ordinary taxpayers would never even know exist. Too often, they get away with it.

At the same time, the enforcement side of the equation is under real strain. Between staffing losses and reduced enforcement capacity, the reality is that the system is not catching everything that it should.

Whether we say it out loud or not, we are increasingly relying on whistleblowers to help fill that gap. These are the people on the inside. They are the people who see the fraud firsthand and are willing to step forward and take a risk to do the right thing. If that is the system we are operating under, then it has to be a system that actually works, and right now, it doesn't.

Whistleblowers face uncertainty. They face long delays and, in some cases, face real personal and professional risks just for coming forward. That is not how you encourage people to expose wrongdoing. That is how you discourage it.

This bill makes targeted improvements to fix those problems. First, it protects whistleblower privacy. If someone is exposing tax fraud, they should not have to fear retaliation or public exposure just to be heard.

Second, it strengthens fairness in the process. It ensures that whistleblowers receive meaningful, independent review of their claims, not just a rubberstamp of prior decisions.

Third, it addresses delays head-on. When the government takes too long to act, whistleblowers should not be the ones paying the price. Providing interest on delayed awards is not a bonus. It is basic fairness.

This is about making sure the rules we already have are actually enforced because when tax cheats get away with it, everyone else pays more or gets less. When whistleblowers are ignored, discouraged, or exposed, fewer people will come forward the next time. That is how you undermine confidence in the entire system.

If we want a tax system that is fair, enforcement has to be credible. If enforcement depends, in part, on whistleblowers, then we need to treat them like they matter. This bill does exactly that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Kelly for his good work and urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith, Mr. Kelly, and Ranking Member Neal for the good work that was done. I concur with Mr. Kelly that staff on both sides have done, as always, a fantastic job.

Mr. Speaker, this bill comes down to fairness and enforcement. When people cheat the tax system and get away with it, honest taxpayers are the ones who pay the price. If we expect whistleblowers to help close the gap, we need to protect them, treat them fairly, and ensure that the system works.

This is a practical, bipartisan step to strengthening enforcement and restoring confidence in the system.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7959) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make improvements with respect to the treatment of whistleblowers, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7959, the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by the Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee chairman, Mr. Mike Kelly, and the subcommittee's ranking member, Mr. Mike Thompson.

The IRS relies in part upon whistleblowers who have the courage to report bad actors who are committing tax fraud, tax evasion, and other similar crimes they witness occurring in the private sector.

The IRS Whistleblower Program is one of the many government efforts that is crucial to combat the epidemic of fraud and stop bad actors from stealing hard-earned dollars from American taxpayers. Since 2007, this program has led to the collection of over $7 billion in unpaid taxes.

At a time when it appears we need a comprehensive approach to combating fraud across various government programs, Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee Chairman Kelly is building on his longstanding commitment to reform and improve the IRS Whistleblower Program to better protect whistleblowers and appropriately reward them for their contributions to combating fraud.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), the sponsor of this legislation and our Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee chairman, who has fought for some time to make these reforms to improve efforts to combat fraud.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, whistleblowers play a critical role in government oversight, whether it be uncovering bad actors within government or, in the case of the IRS Whistleblower Program, alerting the IRS to those in the private sector who are defrauding American taxpayers.

This Congress, the Ways and Means Committee and this administration have made combating fraud a key priority, and I welcome this opportunity to strengthen and impose a key tool in that effort.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for the following Roll Call vote. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: YEA on Roll Call No. 138, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended of H.R. 7959, IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act, and YEA on Roll Call vote No. 139, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended of H.R. 227, Clergy Act.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on April 27, 2026. Had I been present for Roll Call votes, I would have voted aye on: Roll Call No. 138, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 7959, IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act, and Roll Call No. 139, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 227, Clergy Act.