Ohio Senator Rob Portman, who helped negotiate a nearly trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill, said a proposal to strengthen IRS enforcement to raise money to help pay for the bill's spending is officially off the table.
Portman told CNN on Sunday that the proposal was shelved because of pushback from other Republicans who dislike the idea of expanding the reach of the IRS. He said there should be other ways to fund the infrastructure bill.
“There’s legislation, one called the Medicare Rebate Rule, that provides significant revenue." Portman said on CNN. "I’ve been on the phone a lot with the Congressional Budget Office and witht eh joint Committee on Taxation, and we have a number of ‘pay-fors,’ and that’s important that it be paid for."
Portman said Democrats are including a more robust IRS enforcement provision in a separate $3.5 trillion plan they're working to pass through the Senate under special budget rules.