[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 135 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1912-E1913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REFORMING THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 1, 1997

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Congressional Record a 
series of letters between myself and the White House on the subject of 
reforming the Internal Revenue Service.
  The correspondence sadly demonstrates how removed from the concerns 
of the American people the White House appears on this important topic. 
Last week, the entire country saw ordinary taxpayers as well as IRS 
agents and managers offer dramatic testimony on many of the outrageous 
practices of the agency. Apparently, the White House staff were the 
only people in the country not to be concerned about this abusive 
behavior.
  I hope that the White House will join with millions of American 
citizens and commit to reforming the IRS immediately.

                                                      The Speaker,


                                U.S. House of Representatives,

                               Washington, DC, September 29, 1997.
     President William J. Clinton, 
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President, I was gravely disturbed to read the 
     comments in the press today from your top economic advisor, 
     Gene Sperling, on the subject of reforming the IRS.
       Americans have watched with horror in recent weeks as 
     hearings in the Senate and House have uncovered dozens of 
     documented instances of gross incompetence, harassment, and 
     abuse of authority by agents of the IRS. According to the 
     testimony of past and current IRS employees--some of whom 
     were forced to disguise their voices and hide their faces for 
     fear of retaliation--it has been standard practice within the 
     agency to target poor individuals who could not afford to 
     fight and to measure agents' performance on the number and 
     amount of seizures they make.

[[Page E1913]]

       Clearly the IRS is out-of-control and needs to be reformed. 
     Every year we delay will result in tens of thousands of 
     additional nightmares for taxpayers who are unfairly 
     targeted, hounded, abused, and bankrupted by the agency.
       That is why I am so greatly alarmed by the comments of your 
     top economic advisor today that reform efforts are ``a recipe 
     for conflicts of interest'' and a ``serious step backwards.'' 
     Surely you do not agree with Mr. Sperling's bizarre assertion 
     that the bipartisan recommendations of the IRS reform 
     commission headed by Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Bob 
     Kerrey (D-NE) would lead to ``less accountability'' and 
     ``less trust.'' Does Mr. Sperling truly speak for you when he 
     said that you will ``vigorously oppose'' those 
     recommendations?
       If you do not repudiate the statements made by Mr. Sperling 
     today, you will have allied yourself with the IRS' 
     bureaucratic machine and turned your back on the millions of 
     Americans who have been pulled through its gears. I urge you 
     to immediately disavow Mr. Sperling's remarks and make clear 
     your personal commitment to reforming the IRS.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Newt Gingrich,
                                             Speaker of the House.


     
                                                                    ____
                                              The White House,

                                   Washington, September 29, 1997.
     Hon.  Newt Gingrich,
     Speaker of the House, U.S. Congress, Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Gingrich: Thank you for your letter of 
     September 29 regarding our approach to IRS reform.
       As Mr. Sperling noted this morning in stating the 
     Administration's position, we are firmly committed to 
     reforming the IRS. This is a long-held commitment that recent 
     congressional hearings have only helped reaffirm. As Mr. 
     Sperling reiterated this morning ``much more needs to be 
     done'' and we have put forward a ``very strong reform 
     agenda.'' President Clinton made that commitment clear when 
     he signed the Taxpayer Bill of Rights into law last year: 
     ``We say to America's taxpayers, when you deal with the IRS, 
     you also have privileges and we respect them. You have 
     protection and we will help provide it. You have rights and 
     we will shield them.''
       Earlier this month, Secretary Rubin outlined a 
     comprehensive plan to build on those reforms and to modernize 
     and restructure the IRS. This builds on the intensified 
     oversight Treasury has provided over the last two years. Our 
     reform plan mirrors many of the recommendations made by the 
     Kerrey-Portman Commission. Our reform plan would strengthen 
     oversight, increase accountability, and provide for 
     increasing advice from the private sector. The plan would 
     also grant the Taxpayer Advocate greater independence and 
     build on our efforts to promote electronic filing.
       To improve management at the IRS, we have nominated a top-
     notch private-sector information management expert, Charles 
     Rossotti to head the agency. We believe he can bring his 
     cutting-edge private sector expertise, particularly in the 
     area of customer service, to that agency. His nomination is 
     pending before the Senate, and I hope we can put his skills 
     to use as soon as possible.
       There is one area where we strongly disagree with the plan 
     supported by the House Republican leadership. The President 
     strongly opposes a part-time private board that would oversee 
     the operations of the IRS. We believe that such a private 
     board would foster less accountability and create the 
     potential for wide-scale conflicts of interest, as Mr. 
     Sperling noted this morning. Undoubtedly, the type of people 
     qualified to serve on such a board would have their own 
     business before the IRS; that potential for conflicts of 
     interest would make impartial oversight difficult at best. 
     That concern about conflicts of interest is shared by, 
     among others, former IRS Commissioners from both 
     Democratic and Republican administrations, Brookings 
     Institution scholars, and the New York State Bar 
     Association.
       I hope we do not let our differences over the 
     responsibilities of a private advisory board stand in the way 
     of meaningful, bipartisan reform of the IRS. The American 
     people deserve better. As Mr. Sperling said today, we were 
     ``appalled'' and ``extremely disturbed'' by the tales of 
     abuse of individual taxpayers described in the hearings. Such 
     behavior has no place in this administration as Mr. 
     Sperling's full comments this morning make perfectly clear.
       We are encouraged by the measures that the IRS has 
     undertaken to correct those abuses and eliminate any 
     practices that may have inadvertently encouraged them. 
     Secretary Rubin has assured me that he will redouble our 
     efforts to root out cases of malfeasance and promote 
     accountability at the Internal Revenue Service. To promote 
     real reform at the IRS, I hope we can work with you in a 
     bipartisan, constructive spirit.
           Sincerely,
                                                Erskine B. Bowles,
                                                   Chief of Staff.


     
                                                                    ____
                                                      The Speaker,


                                U.S. House of Representatives,

                               Washington, DC, September 30, 1997.
     President William J. Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President. With all due respect, Mr. President, 
     your staff just doesn't seem to get it. For five years, the 
     administration officials in charge of the IRS have fiddled 
     while the agency has burned the hopes and dreams of thousands 
     of innocent taxpayers. Fortunately, the bipartisan Portman-
     Kerrey commission has put forth real reforms to help the 
     taxpayers.
       Now, despite recent congressional hearings that have 
     uncovered the extent of the malfeasance and mismanagement 
     within the IRS, your staff has taken the indefensible 
     position that this same group of political appointees should 
     be allowed to continue supervising the agency.
       In separate statements yesterday, both your top economic 
     advisor and your Chief of Staff made the ludicrous assertion 
     that placing a non-partisan private board of directors--
     unbeholden to any political interest--in charge of the IRS 
     would foster ``less accountability'' and ``less trust'' in 
     the agency.
       Instead of this independent board, your administration has 
     proposed the creation of an internal board made up of 15 
     current political appointees from within the IRS, the 
     Department of Treasury and the Office of Management and 
     Budget. In other words, your response to the dozens of horror 
     stories we have heard from innocent taxpayers over recent 
     weeks is that we leave exactly the same people in charge who 
     have already failed to solve the problem.
       Worse, several of the current officials who would make up 
     such a board are also donors to the Democratic Party and 
     Democrat candidates. In the midst of all of your 
     administration's ongoing campaign finance scandals, do you 
     really expect to restore the confidence of the American 
     people in the IRS by putting some big-donor Democrats in 
     charge of ``non-partisan,'' ``objective'' tax collection.
       Earlier today, you said that we must ``not try to sweep any 
     of these problems under the rugs.'' I agree. The only way to 
     ensure a genuine housecleaning at the IRS is to appoint a 
     private, independent board of directors for the agency.
       I urge you to drop your opposition to reform and join with 
     congressional Democrats and Republicans as we take action to 
     restore public confidence in the IRS.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Newt Gingrich,
                                             Speaker of the House.

     

                          ____________________