LET'S BE CLEAR: Democrats are going to fight for funding increases at the IRS this year now that they've got full control on Washington, and they could very easily succeed. Still, the new statements from Neal and Pascrell also just reinforce how easy it can be to criticize the IRS, and illustrate that Democrats in particular have to balance their support for the agency with trying to feel the pain of the frustrated taxpayers out there. If we're being honest, Democrats have found ways to try and achieve that balance. "Americans do not have confidence in the tax system," Pascrell said in a previously unreleased statement provided to Morning Tax, in which he blames part of that mistrust on the Trump administration. "The leadership of the IRS has also breached some trust," Pascrell added. "But the central cause is the deliberate vandalism bordering on sabotage by Republicans who have starved the IRS for years." At the same time, it should also be noted that most of the heat coming to the IRS from Democrats, at least for now, is from the House side. "In Senator Wyden's view, a decade of Republican funding and staffing cuts are responsible for IRS challenges. One-time funding boosts, while necessary, can't compensate for 10 years of neglect," said Ashley Schapitl, a spokesperson for Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) For his part, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig has noticed the heat his agency is taking from the Hill. Rettig noted last week during an event with the New York City Bar Association that the IRS really only hears from lawmakers when they have a complaint, not when there are any congratulations to offer. His case in point: Rettig argued that much of the public attention on the IRS's administration of the first round of stimulus checks centered on dead people getting payments, a situation where he noted the agency just followed the law as written by Congress. DRIVING THE WEEK: House Democrats are set to pass their $1.9 trillion pandemic relief measure late in the week — and they fully expect to do so without the support of a single GOP lawmaker, our Caitlin Emma reported. As it stands, the Democrats' de facto deadline for getting a package passed — the March 14 expiration of expanded unemployment benefits — is now less than three weeks away, and Senate Democrats say they're ready to run with the baton once it's passed on by the House. GOP lawmakers are prepared to make their case against several elements of the coronavirus measure, including the further aid for state and local governments. But Democrats don't seem too afraid, noting that the measure is polling quite well these days. ONE WORD FOR YOU — PLASTICS: Here's not something you hear every day — a collection of big-name companies are essentially saying, tax us. Please. Recycling issues have caused this dilemma facing big food producers like Nestlé, Mars and Unilever, as our Catherine Boudreau noted. These days, a fair number of both consumers and investors want to see a commitment to sustainability from those companies. The problem is that it's hard for those companies to get their hands on enough recycled products to meet their pledges to be more green. And here's the plan to fix that from The Recycling Partnership, a group that includes those three large food producers: A fee on packaging to augment the $4 billion in taxpayer funds that are already backing local recycling products. If nothing else, that's a bit of a flip flop for the companies, who Catherine notes "have fought efforts that would force them to take responsibility for the empty bottles, used wrappers and other refuse their products leave behind." | 
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