John Duarte Voted to Cut IRS Enforcement Funding. Congress’s Budget Office Says the Cut Would Have Added $114 Billion to Deficits.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cut tax collections by $186 billion, because the IRS would collect less of what people already owe.
On Jan. 9, 2023, then-Rep. John Duarte voted for H.R. 23, the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act. The bill would have rescinded about $71 billion of the roughly $80 billion in new IRS funding approved in 2022, much of it for enforcement. It passed the House 221–210 on a party-line vote and did not become law.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cut federal revenue by $186 billion over ten years. The reason is simple: with less money for enforcement, the IRS would collect less of the tax people already owe. Even after the spending cut, the bill would add about $114 billion to deficits.
The next month, Duarte was one of 66 original Republican cosponsors of H.R. 976, the TCJA Permanency Act. The bill would make permanent the 2017 tax law’s provisions for individuals, families, and small businesses, which were then scheduled to expire after 2025.
John Duarte lost his re-election bid in 2024. His wife, Alexandra Duarte, a Republican, is running for California State Senate District 4 on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. Before the June primary, her campaign website said: “It’s time to CUT California taxes just like President Trump is doing in Washington.” See how her campaign’s message changed.
Sources
- Office of the Clerk, U.S. House, Roll Call Vote 25, H.R. 23 (Jan. 9, 2023)(opens in new tab)
- Congressional Budget Office, Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 23 (Jan. 2023)(opens in new tab)
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “CBO Says IRS Cuts Would Be Costly”(opens in new tab)
- H.R. 976, TCJA Permanency Act, 118th Congress, introduced text listing cosponsors (Feb. 10, 2023)(opens in new tab)
- Alexandra Duarte for State Senate, homepage, archived Feb. 26, 2026 (Internet Archive Wayback Machine)(opens in new tab)
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Read more: Alexandra Duarte for Senate: the full record
More from the record
Pistachio Growers Whose Duarte Trees Failed Asked for Their Money Back. A Judge Found They Were “Left With No Remedy at All.”
A 2022 court decision says John Duarte withdrew a $10-a-tree offer, offered credit for other trees instead, and told a grower he didn’t have the deposit money to return.
An Avocado Grower’s Lawsuit Says DNA Tests Showed Duarte Nursery Sold Him the Wrong Trees.
Richard Stevens’ lawsuit says the 1,000 trees he bought weren’t the rootstock he ordered and couldn’t thrive on his Ventura County farm. Duarte Nursery denied it. The case settled weeks before trial.
A Lemon Grower’s Lawsuit Says Duarte Nursery Sold Him the Wrong Trees, a Variety That Bears a Quarter Less Fruit.
Ron Turner didn’t learn what he had planted until seven years later, his lawsuit says. Under oath, John Duarte said the nursery had no record of a lemon mix-up. The case settled in 2025 before any court ruled.