House rejects measure to cut IRS chief’s salary to zero

The House on Thursday rejected an amendment to a financial services spending bill that would have temporarily cut the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner’s salary to zero.

The amendment failed by a vote of 197 to 224, drawing opposition from some Republicans as well as from Democrats.

Republican Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.) and Mark Sanford (S.C.) offered the amendment, which would have reduced IRS Commissioner John Koskinen’s salary to zero from the date of enactment through the date of the presidential inauguration.

{mosads}“This amendment is necessary because of the serious mistakes by the IRS,” Buck said.

Buck criticized the IRS for subjecting conservative groups’ applications for tax-exempt status to extra scrutiny and for destroying evidence that was subject to a congressional investigation on the political-targeting scandal.

“The commissioner is appointed by the president and serves at the pleasure of the president. Unfortunately, we simply cannot trust anyone that President Obama appoints to that position,” Buck said on the House floor.

Sanford also said that the amendment is about “accountability in government.” He said voters have told him that they like Donald Trump’s presidential campaign because they think he would actually fire federal officials.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) told reporters that he was in favor of the amendment, “if only to send the signal things have to change at the IRS.”

The amendment came as members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have pressed for Koskinen to be impeached due to alleged improprieties as Congress investigated the targeting scandal.

The House Judiciary Committee held two hearings on whether Koskinen should be impeached but has not announced any next steps. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted last month to censure Koskinen, but a floor vote on the censure resolution has not been scheduled.

But both Republicans and Democrats raised concerns about the amendment.

Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, said he had “grave concerns” that the amendment is an unconstitutional “bill of attainder” that punishes a specific person.

Renacci said that the issue of whether Koskinen committed an impeachable or censurable offense should be dealt with separately, and not as part of the appropriations bill.

“This is not about defending the IRS commissioner, this is about defending the United States Constitution,” he said.

Buck and Sanford both said they thought the amendment was constitutional.

Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the bill, said the amendment is “nothing more than a political cheap shot” and called it “the worst kind of statement possible.”

The financial services appropriations bill would reduce IRS funding for fiscal 2017 by $236 million and contains a number of other measures aimed at reining in the IRS.

The House is expected to consider the full bill later on Thursday.