[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 28, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S4357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COVERDELL:
  S. 898. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
taxpayers with greater notice of any unlawful inspection or disclosure 
of their return or return information; to the Committee on Finance.


          taxpayer privacy protection improvement act of 1999

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, I rise today to report on the 
implementation of the Taxpayer Browsing Protection Act of 1997. Two 
years ago, the Congress passed and the President signed into law, 
legislation I proposed with Senator John Glenn that sought to end the 
egregious protection of unauthorized inspections of taxpayer files. 
Something I prefer to call ``file snooping.''
  I am pleased to report that, according to a GAO report my office is 
releasing today, it appears that the Taxpayer Browsing Protection Act 
is working. But, we still have work to do. The report demonstrates that 
file snooping still occurs, but the incidents have become fewer. I 
believe this is good news for taxpayers.
  At the same time, as I stated previously, our work is not done. The 
GAO found that sixteen confirmed cases of file snooping occurred since 
the enactment of the Taxpayer Browsing Protection Act, each of which 
had been appropriately referred for prosecution. Unfortunately, 15 
cases were declined for prosecution meaning there was only one case in 
which taxpayers were notified that their privacy had been violated. In 
those 15 cases, the affected taxpayers were not assured the opportunity 
to seek the civil recourse available under the law.
  I believe we have a duty to correct this loophole. Taxpayers not only 
have a right to know their privacy, entrusted by them to the Federal 
Government, has been violated, that we let them down, but that the 
opportunity to seek the relief provided under the law is ensured.
  Legislation I introduce today, the Taxpayer Privacy Protection 
Improvement Act of 1999, will ensure taxpayers' right to know. In 
short, it triggers the notification of taxpayers that their files have 
been snooped to the point where a case is referred for prosecution 
following the conclusion of a thorough internal investigation.
  This proposal builds on our previous progress, and I encourage my 
colleagues to join me in this effort.
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