119-s1444

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1444 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1444

 To require an annual report of Federal employees and retirees with 
 delinquent tax debt.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 April 10, 2025

 Ms. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require an annual report of Federal employees and retirees with 
 delinquent tax debt.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Tax Delinquencies and Overdue Debts 
are Government Employees' Responsibility Act'' or the ``Tax DODGER 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES WITH DELINQUENT 
 TAX DEBT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury (or the delegate of 
the Secretary) shall submit to the relevant committees and make a 
public on the internet an annual report on current and retired Federal 
civilian and military employees who have delinquent tax debt or an 
unfiled tax return for the most recent fiscal year.

    (b) Matters Included.--The report under subsection

    (a) shall 
include--

    (1) the population of individuals who are civilian 
 employees, retired civilian employees, active duty military 
 employees, military reserve or national guard employees, and 
 retired military employees;

    (2) the number of individuals in each category listed in 
 paragraph

    (1) who have delinquent tax debt (excluding those 
 individuals who have an installment agreement) or an unfiled 
 tax return;

    (3) the aggregate balance owed and the delinquency rate for 
 each such category; and

    (4) the information described in paragraphs

    (2) and

    (3) broken down by Federal agency.
            (c) Relevant Committees.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``relevant committees'' means the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 
the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 
and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives.

SEC. 3. INELIGIBILITY OF NONCOMPLIANT TAXPAYERS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SUBCHAPTER VIII--INELIGIBILITY OF NONCOMPLIANT TAXPAYERS FOR FEDERAL 
 EMPLOYMENT

``

Sec. 7381. Definitions
 ``For purposes of this subchapter--
 ``

    (1) the term `agency' means--
 ``
        (A) an Executive agency;
 ``
        (B) the United States Postal Service;
 ``
            (C) the Postal Regulatory Commission; and
 ``
            (D) an employing authority in the legislative 
 branch;
 ``

    (2) the term `employee' means an employee in or under an 
 agency, including an individual described in 

section 2104

    (b) or 
 2105

    (e) ; and
 ``

    (3) the term `seriously delinquent tax debt'--
 ``
        (A) means a Federal tax liability that has been 
 assessed by the Secretary of the Treasury under the 
 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and may be collected by 
 the Secretary by levy or by a proceeding in court; and
 ``
        (B) does not include--
 ``
            (i) a debt that is being paid in a timely 
 manner pursuant to an agreement under 

section 6159 or 

section 7122 of such Code;
 ``
            (ii) a debt with respect to which a 
 collection due process hearing under 

section 6330 of such Code, or relief under subsection

    (a) ,

    (b) , or

    (f) of 

section 6015 of such Code, 
 is requested or pending;
 ``
            (iii) a debt with respect to which a 
 continuous levy has been issued under 

section 6331 of such Code (or, in the case of an 
 applicant for employment, a debt with respect 
 to which the applicant agrees to be subject to 
 such a levy); and
 ``
            (iv) a debt with respect to which such a 
 levy is released under 

section 6343

    (a)

    (1)
            (D) of 
 such Code.
``

Sec. 7382. Ineligibility for employment
 ``

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection
            (c) , an individual is 
ineligible to be appointed, or to continue serving, as an employee if 
that individual--
 ``

    (1) has a seriously delinquent tax debt;
 ``

    (2) does not submit the certification required under 
 subsection

    (b) ; or
 ``

    (3) does not submit an authorization form requested under 
 

section 7383

    (b)

    (1) .
 ``

    (b) Disclosure Requirement.--The head of each agency shall take 
appropriate measures to ensure that each individual applying for 
employment with that agency is required to submit (as part of the 
application for employment) a certification that the individual does 
not have any seriously delinquent tax debt.
 ``
            (c) Regulations.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph

    (2) , the Director 
 of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the 
 Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall, for purposes of 
 carrying out this section with respect to the executive branch, 
 promulgate any regulations that the Office considers necessary.
 ``

    (2) Content.--The regulations promulgated under paragraph

    (1) shall provide for the following:
 ``
        (A) All applicable due process rights afforded by 
 chapter 75 and any other provision of law shall apply 
 with respect to a determination under this section that 
 an applicant is ineligible to be appointed as an 
 employee or that an employee is ineligible to continue 
 serving as an employee.
 ``
        (B) Before any such determination is given effect 
 with respect to an individual, the individual shall be 
 afforded 180 days to demonstrate that the debt of the 
 individual is a debt described in clause
            (i) ,
            (ii) ,
            (iii) , or
            (iv) of 

section 7381

    (3)
        (B) .
 ``
            (C) An employee may continue to serve, in a 
 situation involving financial hardship, if the 
 continued service of the employee is in the best 
 interests of the United States, as determined on a 
 case-by-case basis and certified as such by the head of 
 the employing agency.
 ``
            (d) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives a report regarding, for the year covered by the report, 
the number of exemptions requested and the number of exemptions granted 
under subsection
            (c) (2)
            (C) .
``

Sec. 7383. Review of public records
 ``

    (a) In General.--Each agency shall provide for such reviews of 
public records as the head of the agency considers appropriate to 
determine if a notice of lien has been filed pursuant to 

section 6323 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to an employee of, or 
an applicant for employment with, that agency.
 ``

    (b) Additional Requests.--If a notice of lien is discovered under 
subsection

    (a) with respect to an employee or applicant for employment, 
the applicable agency may--
 ``

    (1) request that the employee or applicant execute and 
 submit a form authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to 
 disclose to the head of the agency information limited to 
 describing whether--
 ``
        (A) the employee or applicant has a seriously 
 delinquent tax debt; or
 ``
        (B) there is a final administrative or judicial 
 determination that such employee or applicant committed 
 any act described in 

section 7385

    (b) ; and
 ``

    (2) request that the Secretary of the Treasury disclose 
 any information so authorized to be disclosed.
 ``
            (c) Authorization Form.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall make 
available to all agencies a standard form for the authorization 
described in subsection

    (b)

    (1) .
``

Sec. 7384. Confidentiality
 ``Neither the head nor any other employee of an agency may--
 ``

    (1) use any information furnished under this subchapter 
 for any purpose other than the administration of this 
 subchapter;
 ``

    (2) make any publication through which the information 
 furnished by or with respect to any particular individual under 
 this subchapter can be identified; or
 ``

    (3) permit anyone who is not an employee of that agency 
 to examine or otherwise have access to any such information.
``

Sec. 7385. Adverse actions for employees who understate taxes or fail 
 to file
 ``

    (a) In General.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Subject to subsection
            (c) , the head of 
 an agency may take any personnel action against an employee of 
 that agency if there is a final administrative or judicial 
 determination that the employee committed any act described in 
 subsection

    (b) .
 ``

    (2) Personnel actions.--In paragraph

    (1) , the term 
 `personnel action'--
 ``
        (A) includes separation; and
 ``
        (B) does not include administrative leave or any 
 other type of paid leave without duty or charge to 
 leave.
 ``

    (b) Acts.--The acts described in this subsection are--
 ``

    (1) willful failure to file any return of tax required 
 under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, unless that failure is 
 due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect; or
 ``

    (2) willful understatement of Federal tax liability, 
 unless that understatement is due to reasonable cause and not 
 to willful neglect.
 ``
            (c) Procedure.--Under regulations prescribed by the Director of 
the Office of Personnel Management, an employee subject to a personnel 
action under this section shall be entitled to the procedures provided 
under 

section 7513 or 7543, as applicable.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of subchapters for chapter 73 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SUBCHAPTER VIII--INELIGIBILITY OF NONCOMPLIANT TAXPAYERS FOR FEDERAL 
 EMPLOYMENT

``7381. Definitions.
``7382. Ineligibility for employment.
``7383. Review of public records.
``7384. Confidentiality.
``7385. Adverse actions for employees who understate taxes or fail to 
 file.''.
            (c) Effective Date.--This section, and the amendments made by this 
section, shall take effect on the date that is 270 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act.
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