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Innovators, Educators, Vulnerable Americans, Taxpayers, Faith Leaders, and Whistleblowers Receive Critical Relief and Support Under House-Approved Ways and Means Legislation

April 28, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Entrepreneurs, early-childhood educators, survivors of sexual assault and victims of natural disasters, children, whistleblowers, clergy, those seeking new employment opportunities, and American taxpayers will receive critical relief and support under legislation advanced by the Ways and Means Committee and now approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. This week the House voted in favor of 11 different bills – previously approved with unanimous or overwhelming bipartisan support by the Committee – to enact reforms to our nation’s trade enforcement, tax code and tax administration, child support and unemployment systems, and Social Security program.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement upon passage of the bipartisan Ways and Means legislation in the House:

“Working across party lines, the Ways and Means Committee and now the full House of Representatives has advanced policies that provide targeted relief and make life easier for Americans from all walks of life – including hardworking taxpayers, retirees from the clergy, families owed child support, Americans who have lost their jobs or had their lives turned upside down by a natural disaster or sexual assault, and our nation’s educators. These solutions strengthen defenses against intellectual property theft to protect American innovation, reward teachers who ignite a love of learning and curiosity in our youngest students, ensure Uncle Sam is not taxing away critical resources or stealing compensatory damages awarded to victims of natural disasters and survivors of sexual assault, go after delinquent parents owing child support, protect the rights and better serve the needs of American taxpayers, help those looking to find gainful employment by building their own business, restore the promise of Social Security for members of the clergy, and support whistleblowers who help the government combat tax fraud. These bipartisan successes are born out of a good faith effort to deliver commonsense, targeted relief for Americans who need and deserve it the most. I appreciate the leadership of my colleagues who identified challenges, formed solutions, and built consensus, and I encourage the Senate to act on this legislation as soon as possible.”

The following Ways and Means legislation passed with unanimous or strong bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives:

Counterfeit Notification Act (H.R. 4930) 

  • In FY 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized nearly 79 million counterfeit products, valued at $7.3 billion (had the items been genuine).
  • CBP lacks the certainty it needs to share appropriate information with trusted stakeholders about imports that violate American intellectual property (IP) laws.
  • The bill gives CBP the authority to share key information with relevant private sector stakeholders when a shipment contains suspected counterfeit or pirated products. 
  • For several years, CBP has requested greater clarity about what information it can share and with whom when imported goods appear to violate American IP laws. 

Read a fact sheet on the bill here. 

The bill passed the Committee with a vote of 40-0. 

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance (BARCODE) Efficiency Act (H.R. 6956)

  • Approximately 10.5 million tax returns were filed on paper in 2025. During that tax season, the National Taxpayer Advocate found “processing delays continued to impact paper returns…and correspondence.” 
  • The bill requires that tax returns prepared electronically, but filed on paper, include scanning technology that the IRS could digitize by scanning. This will speed IRS processing of these returns. 
  • Additionally, the IRS will be required to transcribe handwritten returns and paper correspondence using scanning technology. 
  • Currently, these items are manually input into the IRS system, contributing to backlog, delay, and additional layers of bureaucracy.

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.  

The bill passed the Committee 42-0.  

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

Taxpayer Experience Improvement Act (H.R. 7971)

  • Requires the IRS to establish a user-friendly real-time dashboard on IRS.gov to provide taxpayers with information on call volume, backlogs, wait times, and the availability of callbacks.
  • Requires upgrades to the IRS’s “Where’s my Refund?” tool, “Where’s my Amended Return?” tool, and individual online accounts.
    • Providing more individualized information to taxpayers about the status of their refunds, reducing taxpayer questions and confusion.
  • Expands online accounts so taxpayers can view their balance due, tax transcript, and certain returns, and allows them to make payments and see whether certain notices were issued.
  • Clarifies that by 2028 the IRS should provide taxpayers with the option to receive a callback when calls are not answered within 5 minutes.
  • In 2023, GAO found that about 33% of IRS information technology (IT) applications and 23% of IRS IT software ranged from 25 to 64 years old.
    • With this updated technology, the IRS is able to focus more resources on combatting fraud in real time.

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.

The bill passed the Committee 43-0. 

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act (H.R. 7959)

  • Provides a more favorable standard of review in whistleblower appeals before the U.S. Tax Court, allowing new evidence to be admitted to the record.
  • Protects whistleblowers from being compelled to identify themselves publicly when pursuing appeals before the court – allowing them to proceed anonymously when challenging an IRS action.
  • Encourages timely award payments to whistleblowers by imposing interest if the IRS fails to issue a preliminary award recommendation within 12 months.
  • Aligns the tax treatment of attorney’s fees for IRS whistleblowers with the standard applied under other federal whistleblower programs.
  • The IRS Whistleblower Program is a critical anti-fraud tool that leverages insider knowledge to recover billions in unpaid taxes, deterring noncompliance and closing a tax gap that the IRS cannot fully address through its own audit capacity.
    • Since 2007, the IRS has collected over $7.37 billion attributable to whistleblower information.

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.

The bill passed the Committee 41-0.

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives 346-10.

Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act (H.R. 6495)

  • The IRS is legally allowed to request that a taxpayer provide additional information necessary to arrive at a fair and accurate audit adjustment. 
  • In cases where taxpayers do not fully cooperate with such requests, the IRS can seek information related to the audit from third parties, like banks or employers.  
  • This bill requires the IRS to tell taxpayers what information it plans to request from third parties and identify which parties it intends to contact. 
  • The bill gives taxpayers 45 days to supply the additional requested information directly from their own records, protecting a taxpayer’s reputation and eliminating the need for many third-party contacts entirely. 

Read a fact sheet on the bill here. 

The bill passed the Committee with a vote of 41-0.  

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act (H.R. 5366)

  • Extends a more generous treatment of personal casualty losses to disasters that occurred prior to January 1, 2027.
    • Under current law, taxpayers can deduct personal casualty losses, subject only to minor limitations, for disasters that occurred between December 28, 2019, and July 4, 2025. However, this rule expires for disasters after July 4, 2025 – meaning fewer disaster victims are currently eligible for a deduction when they suffer disaster-related losses.
  • Excludes wildfire relief payments from taxable income regardless of when they are received, so long as the wildfire disaster declaration occurs after December 31, 2014, and before January 1, 2027.
  • As a result of this legislation, more taxpayers who have been harmed by disasters and wildfires will be eligible for these tax benefits.

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.

The bill passed the Committee 43-0. 

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 2347)

  • Excludes from gross income all compensatory damages awarded to sexual assault victims, regardless of proof of physical injury.
    • This exclusion applies to all compensatory damages and settlements attributable to a sexual act or sexual contact.
  • Makes it easier for victims to prove to the IRS that a sexual assault occurred by allowing a victim to present a court decision or settlement agreement as presumptive evidence.
    • Ensures victims are not forced to relitigate their case with the IRS, should the claim be audited.
    • Prohibits the IRS from requiring a sexual assault victim to provide medical records in order to substantiate the claim.
  • Not all sexual assaults result in observable physical injuries; therefore, under current law, some victims of sexual assault may be required to pay taxes on the damages they receive.

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.

The bill passed the Committee 41-0. 

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

Supporting Early-childhood Educators’ Deductions Act (SEED Act) (H.R. 5334)

  • Expands the definition of “eligible educators” to include early childhood educators, including early childhood teachers, instructors, counselors, principals, and aides.
    • As a result of this change, individuals who teach or care for children ages 0 to 5 would be able to deduct out-of-pocket professional expenses – including expenditures for participation in professional development courses, and supplementary education materials used in the classroom, such as books, supplies, and equipment.
  • The deduction is available for up to $350 of expenses per year for taxpayers who take the standard deduction; additionally, taxpayers that itemize deductions may also deduct expenses above $350.

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.

The bill passed the Committee 43-0. 

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

Ensuring Children Receive Support Act (H.R. 6903)

  • Child support constitutes a significant portion of income for low-income families, totaling an average of 41 percent of income when received, and helps reduce poverty and reliance on welfare. 
  • The State Department, through the Passport Denial Program, must refuse to issue a passport if an individual owes more than $2,500 in past-due child support and may revoke, restrict, or limit an already-issued passport. 
  • In 2024, states reported nearly $30 million in collections through the Passport Denial Program. 
  • The bill changes the program to require the State Department to revoke a passport that was previously issued at the time of renewal, not limited to new applications. 

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.

The bill passed the Committee 40-2.  

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency (NO BOSS) Act (H.R. 6431)

  • The Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program is a voluntary program that offers qualifying unemployment insurance (UI) claimants the option to create their own jobs by starting a small business. 
  • SEA participants are required to be actively engaged on a full-time basis in self-employment assistance activities relating to the establishment of a business.  
  • A state may allow up to five percent of UI claimants to participate, and the program is limited to claimants who are most likely to exhaust their weekly benefits. 
  • The bill increases the participation cap from five to 10 percent and expands eligibility to all UI claimants, not just those determined most likely to exhaust their benefits. 
  • SEA participants must participate in self-employment assistance activities, including submitting a business plan and market feasibility study and certify activities to the relevant state agency for weekly approval. 

Read a fact sheet on the bill here.

The bill passed the Committee 41-0.  

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous consent.

Clergy Act (H.R. 227)

  • Roughly 2,000 members of the clergy receive an exemption from contributing to or receiving benefits from the Social Security retirement or disability programs every year. 
  • Under current law, a member of the clergy’s decision to opt out of Social Security is irreversible. 
  • This bill creates a time-limited, voluntary open season for members of the clergy to revoke their Social Security exemption and opt into Social Security coverage to improve their retirement security.
  • Congress created a similar window in 1999 for members of the clergy to voluntarily opt back into the Social Security system. 

Read a fact sheet on the bill here. 

The bill passed the Committee with a vote of 40-0. 

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives 350-5.