On April 13, 2011, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed a bill that would terminate the employment of federal workers who are seriously delinquent on their taxes. They also passed a bill that would prevent seriously delinquent taxpayers from obtaining a job with the federal government.

Both bills define "seriously delinquent tax debt" and an outstanding debt for which a notice of a lien has been filed in the public record. But federal workers who enter installment agreements to pay off their tax debts would not be affected.

Currently, only IRS employees can be fired for not paying their federal income taxes.

"The bills we reported today further the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's core mission of ensuring that money Washington takes from taxpayers is well spent, and contributes to an efficient and effective government," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the committee said in a statement.

The panel also passed a bill that increases the probationary period for new hires from one to two years.

Taken together, the bills are part of an effort to hold workers who have better benefits than the private sector to a higher standard.

Nearly 100,000 federal civilian employees owed $1 billion in unpaid federal income taxes in 2009, according to the IRS. The number of delinquent federal employees has remained consistent since 2004, but the amount owed has soared nearly 70 percent from $600 million to $1 billion