WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), on Thursday, February 20, led two letters to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). These letters request investigations into whether DOGE’s access to payment systems has compromised sensitive and confidential taxpayer information.
The letters also express concern that members of the DOGE team were granted access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems on January 31st, 2025, in a “read/write” capacity and “may have occasionally included screenshots of payment systems data or records” in correspondence with other DOGE employees.
Suozzi’s letter mimics the exact same language used by Republican Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith when he wrote a similar letter on February 16th, 2023, raising the same concerns about unauthorized use of private taxpayer data. Fourteen Ways and Means members joined Suozzi’s letter as co-signers.
“A lack of transparency has resulted in widespread confusion regarding the safety of taxpayers’ sensitive private data,” the members collectively wrote. “The American people still have no idea of the extent of DOGE’s access to and use of confidential taxpayer information. This must be addressed to ensure it complies with 26 U.S.C. § 6103.”
“The American people deserve full transparency when it comes to the security of their private information,” Suozzi also said. “The fact that DOGE employees may have had unauthorized access to sensitive taxpayer data is deeply troubling. We need answers on what data was accessed, how it was used, and whether taxpayer confidentiality was compromised.”