Debt limit bill gives Republicans IRS cuts, but Democrats say they expect little near-term impact

House Republicans are seeking to make good on their campaign promise to rein in the IRS with cutbacks built into the debt ceiling and budget cuts package moving through Congress.

The bill rescinds $1.4 billion given to the federal tax collector in the Democrats’ health and energy package that was approved last year on party line votes. The White House says the debt deal also includes a separate agreement to take $20 billion from the IRS over the next two years and divert those funds to other nondefense programs.

Democrats expended a lot of political capital to get the IRS more money last year. They faced an onslaught of campaign ads, many of them misleading, about the expected hiring of 87,000 “new agents” to target low- and middle-class Americans.