CNN hosts clash with House Republican over IRS funding: ‘We like to stick to the facts’

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Rep. Lawler clashes with CNN’s Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow over IRS funding

Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y. said that it is a ‘misnomer’ to claim that the wealthy do not pay their taxes.

Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., found himself in a heated discussion with CNN hosts Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow after he claimed Monday that 87,00 IRS employees would inevitably target middle-class Americans. 

During an appearance on "CNN This Morning," Lawler said it was a "misnomer" and a "political statement" to say that the wealthy do not pay their taxes. He added that there are not enough millionaires and billionaires in the United States for the expanded IRS to go after. 

Lemon said that Lawler was factually incorrect and pushed back on his characterization of the bill to expand the IRS, noting that the 87,000 number is not all new hires and does not only consist of new agents. 

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

Lawler responded by stating the replacement of employees through attrition was already budgeted and that Americans are getting "nickel-and-dimed" by the government. 

"To focus in on hiring 87,000 employees agents, you can classify it however you want. The objective is to go after hard-working American taxpayers," he added. 

"I'm wondering if you're concerned that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that this would add to the deficit. The net effect would be $114 billion increase in deficits over the next decade if you don't fund this. Are you worried about this?," Harlow asked. 

Lawler said that he "fundamentally disagrees" with the CBO assessment, calling it a "snapshot," and told the CNN hosts they can take his claim that everyday Americans will be impacted by the IRS funding boost "to the bank."

Internal Revenue Service federal building Washington DC USA (istock)

"Both parties have failed miserably when it comes to getting spending under control. Butm have to use this as a fight. I'm not concerned about what the CBO scoring is on this one bill. All it does is looking at the snapshot. It's not looking at the totality," Lawler said. 

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Lemon closed the segment by claiming Lawler's facts did not "bear out."

"I know you disagree, but we like to stick to the facts," he added.

A study of 2022 IRS tax audit data from The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University found that a taxpayer in the lowest income bracket is five times more likely to face an audit than a member of the highest income bracket. 

Some conservative groups have complained they were singled out for scrutiny by the IRS, whose Washington headquarters is pictured. (Reuters)

"The IRS correspondence audit process is structured to expend the least amount of resources to conduct the largest number of examinations – resulting in the lowest level of customer service to taxpayers having the greatest need for assistance," National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins said of the report during an annual report to Congress.

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The House of Representatives voted to rescind more than $70 billion in funding to the Internal Revenue Service on Jan. 9, fulfilling House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's, R-Calif., promise to prevent the agency from hiring tens of thousands of new agents and conducting new audits on Americans. 

The bill — dubbed the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act and sponsored by Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif. — passed the House of Representatives, 221-210.

 Fox News' Peter Aitken and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.