Senate approves bill to avoid shutdown
On Thursday, February 14, the Senate approved a budget measure (H.J. Res 31) that would avoid a government shutdown. The House was expected to take up and pass the measure in the evening of February 14, and President Trump has indicated he will sign the bill.
The bill includes $11.3 billion in funding for the IRS in fiscal 2019. The final vote was 83-16. The measure stipulates that $77 million must be used to implement tax reform. The bill also contains language that prohibits the Treasury Department from finalizing any regulation related to the standards used to determine the tax-exempt status of a 501(c)(4) organization.
In addition, the appropriations bill provides the IRS with $4.86 billion for enforcement, $3.7 billion for operations support, $2.5 billion for taxpayer services, and $110 million for business systems modernization.