Congressman Kenny Marchant (R-TX) recently introduced legislation that would prohibit IRS employees from using personal email accounts to conduct official business. The bill (H.R. 1152) is being issued in response to the IRS political targeting scandal, abuses into which Marchant and the Ways and Means Committee led an investigation.
Marchant issued the following statement about the proposed legislation:
“The Ways and Means Committee investigation into IRS political targeting revealed that, among other abuses, one of the agency’s top officials used her personal email address for official business. She put confidential taxpayer information at direct risk of falling into the wrong hands. This is a breach of IRS protocol and betrays the trust of the American people. It should be against the law.
“To ensure the IRS’s irresponsible actions are not repeated and better secure taxpayers’ personal information, I have introduced legislation that would prohibit IRS officers and employees from using personal email accounts for official business. The last thing hardworking taxpayers should have to worry about is the security of their confidential information being compromised due to IRS negligence or abuse. My bill shines a light on the problem, takes action to solve it, and helps prevent IRS harassment of taxpayers from ever happening again.”
