Amid scandal, Republicans file bills to stop IRS from enforcing ObamaCare

{mosads}Republican have expressed concern that the Affordable Care Act gives the IRS more power at a time when the agency abused its current authority by targeting Tea Party groups.

“The official who oversaw the targeting of Tea Party groups is now in charge of implementing ObamaCare at the IRS,” Cornyn said. “Now more than ever, we need to prevent the IRS from having any role in Americans’ healthcare.”

The IRS is involved in ObamaCare because it will enforce the requirement that most people buy health insurance or face fines for failing to meet this mandate. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the law is constitutional, and that these fines for failing to buy health insurance are allowable when viewed as a tax.

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) introduced a similar bill in the House on Thursday. Her bill, H.R. 2022, would stop the IRS from implementing the tax under ObamaCare until it guarantees that taxpayer information will not be used to politically target any individual or group that provides information to the IRS.

“The IRS targeting scandal underscores the urgent need to prevent future abuses of taxpayer information at all government agencies involved with ObamaCare,” Black said Friday. “Government bureaucrats are currently building the largest personal information database of U.S. citizens, known as the federal data services hub, which will be used for the implementation and enforcement of ObamaCare.

“ObamaCare’s data hub is a ticking time bomb. Unless action is taken to protect the American people, the IRS scandal will only be the beginning of many more abuses of power by government bureaucrats.”

GOP Reps. Charles Boustany (La.), Mike Kelly (Pa.) and Ralph Hall (Texas) are co-sponsoring the measure.

This article was updated at 2:40 p.m.