Several Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation which would disarm enforcement agents from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana introduced the No Funds for Armed Regulators Act of 2023 on June 30, joined by seven co-sponsors. The bill would disallow the use of taxpayer dollars to hire or retain armed regulatory enforcement agents in the EPA, DOL and IRS if it becomes law.
“Deep state bureaucrats continue to push their executive authority into every corner of America, treading heavily upon your rights and devouring your wealth,” Higgins said in a June 30 press release. “This bill is a key step in pushing back against the oppressive tactics being used to enforce regulatory policies.”
The Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act, a measure by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, would specifically prohibit the IRS from purchasing weapons or arming its agents with firearms.
According to a report from Open The Books, the IRS had about 2,100 armed agents in its enforcement division as of April 2023. According to Open The Books, the agency spent $10 million on weapons and associated equipment between the start of COVID-19 and April 2023, $5 million of which was spent in 2021.
According to an EPA spokesperson cited by E&E News, the EPA currently has 150 enforcement agents who are authorized to carry firearms while performing their duties. A 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office stated that as of November 2017, the inspector general’s office of the EPA was authorized to carry 48 additional agents.
“There was a pretty extreme edge to the regulatory enforcement agents that interacted with my constituents, especially in rural areas,” Higgins said, according to E&E News. “I was surprised to find that these regulatory agencies had armed police officers rolling up into my constituents’ properties to enforce their regulations.”
The exact number of DOL agents who are authorized to carry firearms is unclear.
According to E&E News, Higgins said the bill’s language will make it simple to amend, meaning it might eventually be a part of a larger legislative package. According to E&E News, the bill’s language may also enable a later version to extend its reach beyond the three agencies it currently targets.
As part of the early June debt ceiling negotiations, congressional Republicans were able to reduce new funding for IRS enforcement from the initially-proposed $80 billion by $21.4 billion, according to E&E News.
A spokesperson for the IRS told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the agency will not comment on the pending legislation.
The EPA and DOL did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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