Senate Finance Committee

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., speaks during a news conference

Senators press for barcodes on tax returns so IRS can process them faster

Members of the Senate Finance Committee are calling on the Internal Revenue Service to rely on barcodes to process millions of paper tax returns more quickly.

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(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)FILE - In this photo March 22, 2013 file photo, the exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington. The IRS website to make payments went down on Tuesday, April 17, 2018. The IRS did not have an immediate explanation for the failure. But it said on its website that its online payment system became unavailable at 2:50 A.M. ET on Tuesday.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

IRS HR office understaffed ahead of agency’s hiring surge, watchdog warns Congress

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Amelia Brust/Federal News NetworkLoren Duggan Bloomberg Government

House Democrats working towards infrastructure package

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(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2013 file photo, the Social Security Administration's main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md. Medicare’s financial problems have gotten worse, and Social Security’s can’t be ignored forever. The government’s annual assessment is a sobering checkup on programs vital to the middle class. The report from program trustees says Medicare will become insolvent in 2026, three years earlier than previously forecast. The report says Social Security will become insolvent in 2034, no change from the projection last year.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Senators growing frustrated with SSA’s closed offices, pandemic workarounds

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(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)FILE- In this Jan. 16, 2019, file photo doors at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building are locked and covered with blinds as a sign posted advises that the office will be closed during the partial government shutdown in Seattle. Disruptions from last month’s partial government shutdown caused a “shocking” deterioration in the IRS’ telephone help for taxpayers in the first week of the filing season, the agency’s watchdog said in a report released Tuesday, Feb. 12. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

What federal union members are saying about a potential government shutdown

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(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen)Capt. Thomas Beltz, C-17 Globemaster III pilot with the 514th Air Mobility Wing, closes in to refuel with a KC-10 Extender over the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 10, 2018. The 514th AMW is an Air Force Reserve Command unit located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J..

Air Force may be better off trying to keep pilots than hiring more

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AP/J. Scott ApplewhiteAndrew Saul listens during his confirmation hearing to be commissioner of the Social Security Administration, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Social Security nominee promises ‘top-to-bottom’ review of IT modernization plan

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FILE- This Wednesday, June 6, 2018, file photo shows U.S. currently in New York. Cash back is not just for credit cards. More apps and websites are offering ways to earn money on the stuff you buy, as long as you’re willing to sign up and make a few taps or clicks. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Would bonuses help the IRS meet its taxpayer service goals?

As lawmakers and tax policy experts look to revitalize the IRS Oversight Board that’s laid dormant for years, one proposal on the table would give the…

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impeachment

Senators want more IRS accountability amid House call for chief’s impeachment

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), and 18 other members of his committee, introduced a resolution calling…

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Congress, agencies dissect root causes of improper payments

Congress and agencies are still looking for answers as they grapple with a 14 percent increase in the governmentwide improper payment rate in 2014.

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