— Congressmen David Kustoff (R-TN) and Ron Estes (R-KS) sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel inquiring about the IRS's telework policy and its impact on the agency's ability to provide reliable customer service and protect the security of taxpayers' information.
The letter reads in part, "We write to you regarding the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) telework policies for employees. During your testimony before the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 15, 2024, you indicated that roughly 50 percent of IRS employees work remotely at any given time. The sizable number of IRS personnel working from home raises serious questions about how telework is affecting the agency and American taxpayers.
"Specifically, we are concerned about how the IRS’s telework policy impacts the agency’s ability to provide efficient and reliable customer service to taxpayers. Our constituents regularly report difficulty communicating with the IRS and having their inquiries resolved in a timely manner. Further, a 2024 U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report found that 61 percent of IRS responses to mail inquiries were considered late. Remote work risks exacerbating these issues and may impair crucial services for American taxpayers.
"We are also concerned about the security of confidential taxpayer information that is accessed by IRS employees and contractors working remotely. Americans should be confident that their sensitive taxpayer information is secure, and that the federal government is handling such information responsibly. Remote work presents a variety of unique challenges to safeguarding taxpayer information and ultimately increases the risk of unauthorized access and disclosure."
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://kustoff.house.gov/media/press-releases/letter-kustoff-presses-irs-remote-work-policys-effect-taxpayers