Opening Statement of the Hon. Amo Houghton, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York,
 and Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight

Hearing on the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate Annual Report and the IRS Oversight Board Annual Report

February 28, 2002

Today we are going to hear from two of the hardest working public servants in our government.  They have among the toughest jobs too:  our first witness, Nina Olson, navigates the tax laws on behalf of individual taxpayers; our next witness, Larry Levitan, oversees the 10 billion dollar agency that administers our tax laws.  Each of you recently issued reports that provide us with key insights to the operations of the IRS.

 Before coming to Washington, Nina Olson, was a leader in assisting low-income taxpayers through the Community Tax Law Project in Richmond, Virginia.  She has brought her passion for helping individual taxpayers to her role as National Taxpayer Advocate. 

Ms. Olson has made tax simplification the overall theme of her annual report.  She makes two dozen excellent recommendations to bring some reason to areas of the law that most affect individual income taxpayers.   In addition, she details the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, and offers solutions as well.

Like our first witness, Larry Levitan is eminently qualified for his role as Chairman of the IRS Oversight Board.  He is a retired managing partner of Andersen Consulting, the well-known consultant to America’s largest corporations, and an accountant by training.  

Under Mr. Levitan’s leadership, the IRS Oversight Board has become actively engaged in reviewing the IRS’s computer modernization program and budget needs.  In the coming months, the Oversight Board will face the challenging task of identifying candidates to serve as the new IRS Commissioner when Commissioner Rossotti’s term expires this November.

I am pleased to yield to our ranking Democrat, Mr. Coyne.