[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 5, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H9998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               IRS REFORM

  (Mr. KNOLLENBERG asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, it is no wonder that the vast majority 
of Americans feel that nobody in Washington is on their side. Consider 
the IRS, as some speakers have already. For too long and for too many 
times, this agency has acted in an arrogant, heavy-handed fashion, 
running roughshod over hard-working taxpayers.
  Fortunately, I believe Congress has listened to the American people 
and is now on the verge of passing a bill that will provide taxpayers 
with some much needed protections against the abuses of the IRS. This 
bill makes it easier for taxpayers to recover legal fees when the IRS 
is wrong. It allows taxpayers to sue the IRS for up to $100,000 for 
negligent collection practices, and most important, it shifts the 
burden of proof in court cases from a taxpayer to the IRS.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to stick up for the American 
people by standing up to the IRS. I urge my colleagues to support this 
important IRS reform.

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