House Republicans grill IRS on healthcare reform funds

Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee wrote to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman on Thursday demanding to know how much money the Internal Revenue Service is getting from Democrats' healthcare reform law.

The law created a $1 billion Health Insurance Reform Implementation Fund, and the letter alleges that the IRS has already received "tens of millions of dollars from this fund to implement parts of the health care overhaul." The funding is believed to be on top of the $473.3 million the IRS would get in healthcare related funding under President Obama's 2012 budget.

Republicans have targeted the IRS as part of their defunding strategy and want to prevent the agency from penalizing individuals and businesses that don't comply with the law's insurance coverage requirements.

The letter is signed by Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and oversight subpanel chairman Charles Boustay (R-La.). It gives the IRS until May 12 to reply.