Congress wants to remove the fear and anxiety of dealing with the Internal Revenue Service by modernizing it and making it more accessible. And a local elected official is part of the bipartisan effort to usher the federal organization into the 21st century.

As a ranking member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, whose coverage area includes parts of Butler County and stretches north to Erie, helped introduce the bill known as the Taxpayers First Act along with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-GA. The bill aims at creating and changing a number of procedures with the IRS, including the creation of an independent appeals process for taxpayers with disputes, improvements to the IRS customer service program and more assistance with electronic submissions of tax return forms.

“One thing that bothered me is the IRS could seize people's property, their bank account. That heavy handed handling without a remediating process bothered me,” Kelly said. “When they can seize your assets, when they can shut you down financially, that is a horrible thing for anyone.”

Kelly describes the bill as reforming the whole system in that it would “restructure the agency to improve efficiency, bolster cyber security and require it to develop a customer service plan based on private sector best practices.”

“The IRS is one of the few federal agencies that has a constant relationship with Americans throughout their lives,” Kelly said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, over the years that relationship has become one of fear and distrust. We can restore Americans' faith and trust in the IRS by ensuring that the agency is acting as an advocate and meeting the needs of taxpayers.”

The bill is backed by Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-TX, who's now the ranking member.

On the Senate side, Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, have introduced identical legislation.

A similar bill was introduced and failed last year, but Kelly is confident of the bill's future.

“I don't have the numbers for the Lotto this weekend, but I could tell you this legislation is going to pass,” he said, citing full bipartisan support. “We are in total agreement on this getting done. The staffs on both sides are 100 percent on board with this, so it is going to get done.”

Kelly described the Ways and Means Committee as a protector of Americans.

“We're the watchdogs for the American taxpayer,” he said. “It's about our obligation to the hard working American taxpayer and that's not party specific. We're here to get things done fairly for the American taxpayer. This taxpayer act is securing the idea that the IRS is the service facility of American taxpayers.”

A local accountant welcomed the news.

“In my opinion, it works as best as it can, but everything could be improved upon,” said Kenny Bonus, who runs a business with his namesake and is a certified public accountant.

Tax return season, which ends mid-April, is his busiest time of year.

“With technology, there's always room for improvement,” Bonus said. “To see that the government is introducing progressive ideas with taxes is most welcoming.”

Bonus said that he has noticed the number of people practicing tax accounting has been reduced over the years, adding an extra imperative for the IRS to improve and become more accessible to the public.

“A lot of accountants are retiring and they just aren't being replaced,” Bonus said, adding that the IRS will have to come into contact with more people over the years. “A common complaint I get from people and my customers is that they are on hold with the IRS for hours. So, it's very promising to see (Congress) address this.”