FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
July 15, 1997
No. OV-6
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold the first of a series of hearing to examine the June 25, 1997 report of the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) entitled, "A New Vision for the IRS." The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 24, 1997, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include members of the Commission and officials from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service was established by Public Law 104-52. Its purpose was to review the present practices of the IRS and to make recommendations for modernizing and improving its efficiency and taxpayer services. The 17-member panel was comprised of Members of Congress, Administration officials, representatives from various private sector firms, taxpayer organizations, and the National Treasury Employees Union, a former IRS Commissioner, and a State tax administrator. The Commission was co-chaired by Senator Robert Kerry (D-NE) and Representative Rob Portman (R-OH). Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Representative William Coyne (D-PA), the Ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Oversight, also served on the Commission.
Over the past year, the Commission held 12 days of public hearings, 3 field hearings, and numerous private sessions with public and private sector experts, academics and citizen's groups to examine IRS operations and services. It also reviewed thousands of reports on IRS operations, management, governance, and oversight. The Commission's report, which was endorsed by 12 of its 17 members, contains recommendations relating to Congressional oversight and Executive Branch governance; IRS management and budget; IRS workforce and culture; IRS customer service and compliance; technology modernization; electronic filing; tax law simplification; taxpayer rights; and financial accountability.
Its most notable recommendation is that responsibility for Executive Branch governance of the IRS should be placed with a new Board of Directors appointed by the President for staggered five-year terms, and comprised of one representative each from the Treasury Department and from the National Treasury Employees Union, and five private sector individuals with expertise in managing a large service organization. The Board's role would be to guide long-term strategic planning at the IRS, appoint and remove senior IRS leadership (including the Commissioner), approve the development of IRS's budget and allocation of the agency's resources, and hold IRS management accountable for success. The Commission also recommends that the IRS Commissioner should be appointed for a five-year term and should be given greater flexibility in hiring, firing, and salary decisions.
The Administration has formulated its own plan, entitled the "Five-Point Plan for IRS governance," which includes the establishment of an IRS Management Board (comprised of 20 high-level Federal officials) to improve management and operation of the IRS, and an IRS Advisory Board (comprised of 14 private-sector professionals) to provide advice to the Treasury Secretary, and a National Performance Review to address customer service problems at the IRS.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "On a daily basis, the IRS touches the lives of millions of hard-working Americans who provide the very lifeblood of the Federal Government through the taxes they pay. In return, the nation's taxpayers deserve high-quality service and fair treatment. Regrettably, the near-universal view is that the quality of IRS's interaction with the taxpayers has deteriorated over the past two decades. The IRS Restructuring Commission has performed a valuable service to nation by identifying the complex problems facing the IRS and offering constructive recommendations for changing it into an agency which provides world class service and citizen satisfaction."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The purpose of hearing will be to provide Subcommittee Members with a general overview of the Commission's findings and recommendations, as well as the Administration's position on the Commission's recommendations and its five-point plan for improving the IRS. Additional Subcommittee hearings will be scheduled later in the year to examine specific proposals in the Commission Report within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, August 7, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.