Yesterday, Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10), the Republican Leader of the House Financial Services, released the following statement after President Trump signed H.R. 3151, the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 into law. This legislation included provisions from H.R. 2007, the IRS Data Verification Modernization Act of 2019, introduced by Republican Leader McHenry and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), which will allow small businesses and consumers to access accurate credit assessments more efficiently.

“America’s private sector is operating in the 21st century and it’s time our government agencies join them," said McHenry. "FinTech companies and banks rely on leveraging data and technology to make faster, more informed lending decisions, and they should not be subjected to needless delays due to bureaucratic processes. I’m thrilled to see my legislation to help modernize the IRS—and ultimately ensure we are better serving the American people—signed in to law by President Trump.”

Yesterday afternoon, Congressman McHenry had the opportunity to join President Trump at the White House for the Taxpayer First Act signing ceremony.

Official White House photo by Daniel Hansen

Official White House photo by Daniel Hansen

Background: As part of the loan and mortgage processes for consumers and small businesses, each applicant completes an IRS form called a “4506-T.” This gives the lender the right to access a summarized version of their tax transcript, which is used to confirm certain data points on their application. According to industry reports, this manual process at the IRS takes two to eight days, which creates needless delays for fintech companies and banks that rely on leveraging data and technology to make faster, more informed decisions for consumer and small business lending.