When one hears of plans for 87,000 new IRS agents anticipated in the new spending plan working its way through Congress, it’s easy to think of rows and rows of desks staffed by bean counters. And there will be some of those.

But how many of the 87,000 new IRS agents will be of the gun-toting variety? A recent job posting from the agency raises that question. The spending bill hasn’t been passed into law, so details are few. But the announcement suggests what some of those new employees may do.

The posting is for IRS criminal investigation special agents. These are not the people who will review your tax forms. They are armed law enforcement officers who will be dispatched to the homes and businesses of alleged lawbreakers.

In 2021, the IRS criminal investigations unit initiated 1,372 investigations into alleged tax crimes, for which 633 people were sentenced, according to the IRS annual report. The IRS investigated another 1,209 potential crimes not involving taxes, such as money laundering, for which 635 people were sentenced.

All of those numbers are likely to go up if the criminal investigations team in the IRS gets even a fraction of the 87,000 new agents.

Among the major duties of the job, according to the posting:

• Maintain a level of fitness necessary to effectively respond to life-threatening situations on the job.
• Carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.
• Be willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments.

President Joe Biden and his administration have argued that the new IRS employees will target the rich and wealthy.

But the Joint Committee on Taxation, a congressional committeee, found that as much as 57% of the funds to be raised by the new enforcement push will come from people making $50,000 per year, or less.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, tweeted on Aug. 5 that corporate price gouging is hurting Americans in the wallet.

But they did have some politicians on their side, she said. “Democrats are standing up to Big Pharma and Big Oil to lower costs for Americans.”

What she didn’t share is that she has received campaign donations from Big Pharma and Big Oil throughout her congressional career.

Stabenow was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. Before that, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Michigan Legislature.

Stabenow received $9,000 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry during her first term as senator, according to opensecrets.org. She received $3,650 from pharmaceutical manufacturers the same year and a total of $13,150 from what OpenSecrets calls “pharmaceuticals/health” interests the same year.

The senator received a total of $99,506 in contributions from oil and gas interests since entering Congress. She received $463,503 from pharmaceutical/health interests and $117,201 coming from pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This is not the first time Stabenow’s declarations do not align with her actions.

Michigan Capitol Confidential reported in February that the senator tweeted her opposition to Canada storing spent nuclear fuel near the Great Lakes. She said it was dangerous and made no sense.

But Stabenow voted against a plan to remove spent nuclear fuel from the Great Lakes in 2002. The question then involved an underground storage site in Nevada, where the fuel could have been moved. Her fellow Michigan Democratic Senator, the late Carl Levin, supported the proposal.

Stabenow’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.