Missionary of Doom: IRS Union Boss Warns IRS Underfunding Jeopardizes IRS' Mission

The head of the union representing the workers at one of America’s most loathed government agencies is predicting dire consequences if Congress doesn’t cough up more money to fund the Internal Revenue Service.

Colleen M. Kelley, President of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), must believe that the majority of American taxpayers care about funding the Internal Revenue Service–much less want it funded.

Nevertheless, Ms. Kelley is on a mission to scare people into thinking that more taxpayer dollars should be spent on funding the agency that targets Americans based on their political beliefs.

On Tuesday, NETU (the union that represents IRS employees) issued a press release which stated:

The omnibus appropriations measure unveiled by House and Senate negotiators for the balance of fiscal 2014 sets the stage for another difficult year for the nation’s revenue-producing agency, the leader of the union representing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees said today.

“Continued underfunding of the IRS means refunds will be delayed, taxpayers will sit on hold and tax help will be available to fewer and fewer Americans,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

Overall, the NTEU leader said, “While the appropriations bill is a nominal improvement over another full year Continuing Resolution at current levels, it is woefully inadequate to allow agencies to deliver the critical services taxpayers expect and deserve. Sequestration must end for the good of the nation.”

The IRS union complains that, “since 2010, IRS funding and staffing have been cut by 8 percent….IRS funding has been reduced by some $1 billion over the past three years, leading to a decline of more than 8,000 employees.”

Many Americans would argue, however, that those cuts are not nearly draconian enough.

This is not the first time Ms. Kelley has gone on a scare mission for funding.

Last year, Kelley blasted plans to cut the EPA’s budget stating, “Reducing EPA’s budget by this magnitude will have a devastating effect on the services EPA provides to the nation.”

For some reason, the sympathy card just isn’t working for me. How about you?

Related: