On The Money — McCarthy pushes to cut IRS funding

House Republicans’ first bill would rescind new IRS funding — and the White House isn’t happy about it.

We’ll also look at a new campaign finance complaint against newly minted Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.).

But first, find out why Dr. Dre is mad at Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

Welcome to On The Money, your guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Subscribe here.

CBO: Republicans’ IRS bill will add $114B to deficit

The Republican proposal to eliminate billions of dollars in IRS funding will pile more than $100 billion onto federal deficits, according to a new estimate from Congress’s official budget scorekeeper.

The bill, which is slated to hit the House floor Monday night as the first legislative act of the new GOP majority, would claw back most of the almost $80 billion in new IRS funding provided under the Democrats’ massive climate, health and tax package, which was signed by President Biden last year.

• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the legislation would cut federal spending by $71 billion, but would reduce tax revenue to the tune of almost $186 billion.
• The net effect would be a $114 billion increase in deficits over the next decade, the CBO found.
• Almost $46 billion of the spending would go toward agency enforcement efforts designed to prevent certain taxpayers — largely corporations and wealthy individuals — from paying less than they owe.

Aris and Mike Lillis have more here.

IT BEGINS

White House opposes ‘reckless’ GOP bill to rescind IRS funding

The White House on Monday excoriated Republican-led legislation up for a vote in the House to rescind funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allocated last year by Democrats, calling it a “reckless” bill that would benefit “tax cheats.”

“With their first economic legislation of the new Congress, House Republicans are making clear that their top economic priority is to allow the rich and multi-billion dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.

The background: The House is set to vote as early as Monday evening on the bill, which would claw back roughly $80 billion in funding for the IRS.

• Democrats have said the money will be used to improve taxpayer services and increase the agency’s ability to crackdown on corporations and wealthy Americans who are skirting tax laws.
• Republicans for months vowed to reverse the funding if they won control of the House, claiming the money would be used to fund other Democratic priorities and that the agency would go after middle-income Americans.

Here’s more from The Hill’s Brett Samuels.

SANTOS SCRUTINIZED

Ethics watchdog files FEC complaint against George Santos

A nonpartisan ethics watchdog filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against first-term Rep. George Santos on Monday, urging the agency to investigate the New York Republican for allegedly violating campaign finance laws.

The ethics complaint — filed by the Campaign Legal Center — came shortly after Santos was sworn into the House early Saturday morning following the dayslong Speaker election, officially installing him as a lawmaker in the 118th Congress.

Among other claims, the watchdog is specifically interested in:

• Allegations Santos took part in a straw donor scheme to hide the sources behind a loan he made to his campaign
• Claims he purposely falsified numbers on his disclosure reports
• Allegations he wrongfully used campaign funds for personal matters.

The Hill’s Mychael Schnell has more here.

FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

Elon Musk secures world record for largest-ever loss of personal fortune

Elon Musk has secured a world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history, Guinness World Records said Friday.

In a blog post, the global organization, which keeps track of a huge variety of records, cited Forbes’s estimate that Musk had lost around $182 billion since November 2021 but noted that other sources indicate the figure is closer to $200 billion.

While the true figure is unclear, Musk’s losses appear to easily surpass those of the previous record-holder, Japanese tech investor Masayoshi Son, who lost $58.6 billion in 2000.

The Hill’s Jared Gans breaks it down here.

Good to Know

The top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee blasted a provision in the proposed House rules package that would make it easier to transfer public lands, calling it an indication the new GOP majority intends to pursue a broadly pro-industry agenda.

The proposed rules package, made public Friday, includes a provision streamlining the process by which ownership of federal lands passes from the federal government to states or localities.

Another item we’re keeping an eye on:

• The U.S. needs to boost its investments in tech advancements in order to stay competitive on a global market, three Senate Democrats said Friday at the Consumer Electronic Show.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.