Fischer: Time to End Wasteful Federal Bonuses

 

Renews Support for Bill to Prohibit Bonus Pay for Federal Employees Who Have Not Paid Taxes, Have Conduct Problems

WASHINGTON – This afternoon, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) renewed her support for bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), The Stop Wasteful Federal Bonuses Act. The bill would prohibit bonus pay from being awarded to federal employees who have violated agency rules or the law. Senator Fischer released the following statement today regarding the bill: “Federal employees who have broken the law should not receive bonuses at the expense of hardworking American taxpayers. Our bill takes meaningful steps to stop this outrageous practice while helping ensure taxpayer dollars are being used more efficiently and effectively.” Last year, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report revealing that $2.8 million was paid in bonuses between 2010 and 2012 to 2,800 employees with conduct violations - including more than $1 million for over 1,100 IRS employees who have not paid their taxes. Certain federal agencies, including the IRS, don't consider conduct problems, including tax compliance, when determining bonuses. The Stop Wasteful Federal Bonuses Act would prohibit the head of an agency from awarding a bonus to an employee if the agency inspector general, a senior ethics official of the agency, or the Government Accountability Office makes a determination that the employee's conduct either violated agency policy for which the employee may be fired or suspended, or violated a law for which the employee may be imprisoned for more than one year. The bill would maintain the prohibition for five years. Last year, Senator Fischer sent a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen demanding answers about IRS mismanagement and wrongful bonuses. In the letter Fischer asked for specific answers to a number of questions, including exactly how many employees received bonuses and what steps, if any, the IRS plans to take to recover the bonus pay awarded to its tax delinquent employees. She also called for the termination of all tax delinquent employees, pursuant to current law. Click here to view the text of The Stop Wasteful Federal Bonuses Act.