GOP-led US House bill aims to strip IRS agents of guns and ammo

A Republican-led effort in the House is aiming to strip IRS agents of guns and ammunition

GOP Representative Barry Moore of Alabama introducing a bill this week dubbed

Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act? The bill bans the IRS from using taxpayer dollars to purchase

obtain, or retain firearms or ammunition. It mandates IRS agents turn in guns and ammo

to the General Services Administration, which would then sell and auction them off

The guns would be sold to federal firearms licensees and all ammunition auctioned off to the public within 30 days

Money raised from the sell-offs would go into a general fund of the Treasury for the purpose of deficit reduction

In a statement, Moore said, Arming these agents does not make the American public safer, adding

The only thing IRS agents should be armed with are calculators. Moore says the bill also transfers the IRS Criminal Investigation Division

to be folded into the Department of Justice's jurisdiction, saying the bill is to address a major funding increase for the IRS under the Biden Inflation Reduction Act The law included the hiring of more IRS agents with arrest powers and saw million worth of firearms and protective gear like body armor and shields purchased

That's in addition to the nearly 1,200 firearms and 5 million rounds of ammunition the IRS already reportedly had

The only IRS agents authorized to carry firearms and with arrest powers are with the Criminal Investigations Division

These IRS agents have carried guns since 1919 as they deal with financial crimes, including money laundering and the funding of terrorist networks

Officials note these IRS officers often find themselves in high-risk situations like executing search and arrest warrants

The bill has yet to make it to the House floor, but Moore says he's optimistic his legislation will get a vote eventually

The legislation, however, faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where it reportedly likely not have enough votes to reach the president's desk

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