Sen. Ernst Introduces Tax DODGER Act to Fire Federal Workers with Unpaid Taxes
The Tax DODGER Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for review. The bill is actively moving, but there are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.
This bill faces a difficult path because it changes job protections for millions of federal workers, which usually leads to strong pushback from employee unions and many lawmakers.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Current federal workers with unpaid tax debts could lose their jobs if they don't set up a payment plan or resolve the debt within 180 days. While this would only directly affect the subset of federal employees who owe back taxes, it creates a permanent new condition of employment for all 2+ million civilian federal workers, who would also face public records checks for tax liens. New applicants would need to certify they have no serious tax debt to be hired.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Sen. Joni Ernst introduced the Tax DODGER Act, which requires the IRS to publish an annual report on tax delinquencies of federal employees and retirees. The bill also makes individuals with seriously delinquent tax debt ineligible for federal employment, with exceptions for payment plans.
A report highlights that nearly 150,000 federal workers owe $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Sen. Joni Ernst's Tax DODGER Act is cited as a legislative response to ensure federal employees comply with tax laws, potentially barring tax-delinquent individuals from government jobs.
While most federal workers are tax-compliant, the number of delinquent employees has risen. The article discusses the lack of a government-wide requirement to fire tax-delinquent workers, a policy gap that the Tax DODGER Act was later designed to address.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Tax DODGER Act
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