Sen. Tim Scott Introduces Bill To Divert $15 Billion From IRS To Border Security

Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina introduced legislation on Wednesday that would redirect $15 billion from the $80 billion in new funding for the IRS in order to beef up security on the southern US border.

According to the Daily Caller, the 'Securing Our Border Act' would specifically fund border inspections to allow law enforcement officials to better combat the illegal trafficking of drugs and other substances before the enter the United States.

The bill would also fund border wall construction and other technologies to help with tracking and enforcement efforts along the southwest border.

Additionally, the legislation would give retention bonuses to Border Patrol agents and end the “catch and release” policy. -Daily Caller

GOP officials have argued that the $80 billion in new IRS funding - which will be used to hire more than 87,000 new IRS employees - will increase audits on poor and middle-class Americans, despite a pledge by the Biden administration to go after wealthier individuals.

"We have a crisis on our southern border. Rather than putting resources in place to address this major national security and humanitarian catastrophe, the Biden administration and congressional Democrats chose instead to spend $45 billion of taxpayer money to hire an army of IRS agents to audit the middle class," Scott told the Caller before introducing the bill, adding "While President Biden continues to drop the ball, I’m introducing legislation to fund border infrastructure and give our Border Patrol agents the tools they need to help stop the unaddressed flows of illicit goods and persons into this country. Americans need more border agents keeping them safe – not thousands more IRS agents looking over their shoulder."

As the Caller further notes, the bill has five original co-sponsors; Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Steve Daines of Montana, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and James Lankford of Oklahoma. It has also been endorsed by the 18,000-member National Border Patrol Council.