WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee leaders today sent a letter to the IRS regarding its $7.25 million contract with Equifax. The contract comes after Equifax revealed the personal information of over 145 million Americans was compromised, and follows the hearing held by the Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection with former Equifax CEO Richard Smith.
The letter was signed by Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), #SubDCCP Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH), #SubDCCP Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and the full bipartisan group of #SubDCCP members.
“It has come to our attention that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) awarded a no-bid contract for ‘third party data services from Equifax to verify taxpayer identity and to assist in ongoing identity verification and validations needs’ of the IRS," the leaders wrote. “The timing and nature of this IRS contract raises red flags given the recent breach at Equifax. The contract was finalized nearly a month after Equifax disclosed a massive data breach of sensitive personal information."
