IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on Tuesday, May 7, urging appropriators to extend the funding boost for the agency included in the Inflation Reduction Act through Fiscal Year 2034. The hearing allowed Werfel to testify on behalf of President Biden’s budget request for FY2025.

Current funding for the agency would allow for 25,000 IRS employees for taxpayer services. Werfel stressed that the agency needs 38,000 employees to meet demand from the nation’s taxpayers.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle lauded improved customer service at the IRS, giving credit for a successful tax season. IRS answered more than 1 million more calls in the most recent tax season than the previous year, and three million more than the year before. Commissioner Werfel said, “our ongoing success hinges on sustained investments to make sure that we have the right size workforce with the right training and tools.”