Congress Boosts Pressure on IRS After Tax Leaker Guilty Plea

Lawmakers are ramping up pressure on the IRS to ensure the agency’s data is secure after a former contractor pleaded guilty to stealing private taxpayer data and sharing it with media outlets.

Lawmakers and watchdogs issued repeated warnings about lacking safeguards at the agency that annually processes millions of tax returns. House Oversight Committee lawmakers hear testimony Tuesday from IRS and Government Accountability Office officials for the first time since the contractor was charged, and Senate appropriators requested a new government watchdog probe this summer.

The Oversight hearing includes testimony from IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel and is slated to include ...