[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 16, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TAX COLLECTION RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 10, 2007

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
the Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007. This legislation will 
put a stop to the use of private debt collection agencies to collect 
federal income taxes and ensure that this critical government function 
is performed by public servants on behalf of American taxpayers.
  The small proportion of individuals who do not pay their taxes does 
increase the burden for the rest of the responsible, law-abiding 
Americans. In 2004 Congress attempted to hold these people accountable 
by authorizing a pilot private debt collection program for debts owed 
to the Internal Revenue Service. While this program was intended to be 
a more efficient way to collect unpaid taxes, it has proven to be a 
failure.
  We have found that some of the private debt collection agencies are 
nothing short of bounty hunters, who use harassment to collect debts. 
Our constituents deserve to know that the person contacting them on 
behalf of the Federal Government is a public-servant, who is held to 
the highest standards of accountability and confidentiality, not a 
person whose paycheck depends solely on the number of collections they 
make.
  In addition to the use of heavy-handed and abusive tactics to collect 
unpaid taxes, private tax collection agencies have also shown 
themselves to be significantly less efficient than the IRS agents who 
should be doing this work in the first place. This program has cost the 
American taxpayers $71 million, but has only collected $20 million, for 
a net loss of over $50 million. The IRS's National Taxpayer Advocate 
testified that for the same $71 million investment, the IRS would have 
collected around $1.4 billion. It simply does not make sense to waste 
public funds in this manner.
  The Republican motion to recommit on this legislation would add to 
the bill a wholesale repeal of the estate tax. Repealing the estate tax 
would be fiscally irresponsible and break the promise this Congress 
made to the American people to work towards a balanced budget. Since 
its adoption would make the bill violate the House PAYGO rules, this 
motion is clearly nothing more than a political move to kill the 
underlying bill. This motion to recommit shows where the Republican 
Party's priorities are; the estate tax currently affects less than two 
percent of the wealthiest estates. A full repeal would require that 
taxes on millions of working Americans be raised and that Social 
Security and Medicare benefits for American seniors be reduced. I will 
continue to support a responsible approach to reducing the estate tax 
that provides relief for families without burdening future generations 
with additional deficit spending.
  Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable that the IRS outsources a function as 
central to the Federal Government as tax-collection. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3056.

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