Diane Macedo Fox NewsApril 15, 2012:    

A new bill making its way through Congress could allow the federal government  to prevent Americans who owe back taxes from leaving the country.

The provision is part of Senate  Bill 1813, which was introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in November  and passed by the Senate on March 14 “to reauthorize Federal-aid highway and  highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes.”

Those “other purposes” have come to include a little-known amendment recently  introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that would allow the State  Department to revoke, deny or limit passports for anyone the Internal Revenue  Service certifies as having “a seriously delinquent tax debt in an amount in  excess of $50,000.”

While the provision does make exceptions if the debt “is being paid in a  timely manner” or “in emergency circumstances or for humanitarian reasons,” it  doesn’t require that a person be charged with tax evasion before having their  passport revoked -- only that the IRS has filed a notice of lien or levy against  them.

Constitutional Attorney Angel Reyes says that’s a violation of due process  and is unconstitutional.

“It takes away your right to enter or exit the country based upon a  non-judicial IRS determination that you owe taxes,” Reyes told FOX Business. “It’s a scary thought that our congressional representatives want to give the  IRS the power to detain US citizens over taxes, which could very well be in  dispute.”

Financial Adviser Clark Hodges says the measure is especially concerning  given the high number of taxpayers it could affect.

“There are so many people that fall into that situation, and I think that’s  too invasive. Especially coming out of a bad economy there are a lot of people  behind on a lot of things,” he told Fox Business.

Still, the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” or “MAP-21″  passed the Senate in a vote of 74-22, and is now headed for the GOP-controlled  house where it’s expected to meet stronger opposition.

Boxer’s office declined to comment on the passport provision when contacted  by Fox Business, but the Senator vowed last week to do everything in her power  to get the bill across the finish line.

“Thousands of businesses are at stake, and eventually we are talking about  nearly three million jobs at stake,” she  said in a statement. “There are many people on both sides of the aisle in  the Senate who want to get our bill, MAP-21, passed into law, and I am going to  do everything I can to keep the pressure on the Republican House to do just  that.”

Niels Lesniewski, Editor of CQ SenateWatch, says legally the provision has  precedent on its side.

“Existing law says that passports may not be reviewed for applicants owing  child support in excess of $2,500. So I think supporters would say: ‘You can’t  get a passport if you don’t pay child support, but you can get a passport if you  don’t pay taxes?” he said.

As for the MAP-21’s prospects of passing the House, Lesniewski says it’s hard  to tell if it will withstand Republican opposition, but he believes the passport  provision has a good chance at becoming law for one reason: money.

“This provision is expected to raise almost $750 million in the 10-year  window that they do the budget,” he said. “I think it will get passed  eventually, and not necessarily as part of the transportation bill, but it seems  like relatively low hanging fruit.”

Senator Reid’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

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