[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H10199-H10200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H10199]]
                INMATE TAX FRAUD PREVENTION ACT OF 2008

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 7082) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
permit the Secretary of the Treasury to disclose certain prisoner 
return information to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7082

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Inmate Tax Fraud Prevention 
     Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF PRISONER RETURN INFORMATION TO FEDERAL 
                   BUREAU OF PRISONS.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (k) of section 6103 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to disclosure of 
     certain return and return information for tax administration 
     purposes) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(10) Disclosure of certain return information of 
     prisoners to federal bureau of prisons.--
       ``(A) In general.--Under such procedures as the Secretary 
     may prescribe, the Secretary may disclose to the head of the 
     Federal Bureau of Prisons any return information with respect 
     to individuals incarcerated in Federal prison whom the 
     Secretary has determined may have filed or facilitated the 
     filing of a false return to the extent that the Secretary 
     determines that such disclosure is necessary to permit 
     effective Federal tax administration.
       ``(B) Restriction on redisclosure.--Notwithstanding 
     subsection (n), the head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons may 
     not disclose any information obtained under subparagraph (A) 
     to any person other than an officer or employee of such 
     Bureau.
       ``(C) Restriction on use of disclosed information.--Return 
     information received under this paragraph shall be used only 
     for purposes of and to the extent necessary in taking 
     administrative action to prevent the filing of false and 
     fraudulent returns, including administrative actions to 
     address possible violations of administrative rules and 
     regulations of the prison facility.
       ``(D) Termination.--No disclosure may be made under this 
     paragraph after December 31, 2011.''.
       (b) Recordkeeping.--Paragraph (4) of section 6103(p) of 
     such Code is amended by striking ``(k)(8)'' both places it 
     appears and inserting ``(k)(8) or (10)''.
       (c) Evaluation by Treasury Inspector General for Tax 
     Administration.--Paragraph (3) of section 7803(d) of such 
     Code is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of 
     subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of 
     subparagraph (B) and inserting ``; and'', and by adding at 
     the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(C) not later than December 31, 2010, submit a written 
     report to Congress on the implementation of section 
     6103(k)(10).''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to disclosures made after December 31, 2008.
       (e) Annual Reports.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     annually submit to Congress and make publicly available a 
     report on the filing of false and fraudulent returns by 
     individuals incarcerated in Federal and State prisons. Such 
     report shall include statistics on the number of false and 
     fraudulent returns associated with each Federal and State 
     prison.

     SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF CERTAIN JUDICIAL SURVIVORS' ANNUITIES.

       (a) In General.--Section 376 of title 28, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(x) In the case of a widow or widower whose annuity under 
     clause (i) or (ii) of subsection (h)(1) is terminated because 
     of remarriage before attaining 55 years of age, the annuity 
     shall be restored at the same rate commencing on the day the 
     remarriage is dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment, if--
       ``(1) the widow or widower elects to receive this annuity 
     instead of any other survivor annuity to which such widow or 
     widower may be entitled, under this chapter or under another 
     retirement system for Government employees, by reason of the 
     remarriage; and
       ``(2) any payment made to such widow or widower under 
     subsection (o) or (p) on termination of the annuity is 
     returned to the Judicial Survivors' Annuities Fund.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 376(h)(2) of title 28, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking the period at the 
     end and inserting ``, subject to subsection (x).''.
       (c) Effective Date.--
       (1) In general.--This section and the amendments made by 
     this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 
     month beginning at least 30 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act and shall apply in the case of a 
     remarriage which is dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment 
     on or after such first day.
       (2) Limited retroactive effect.--
       (A) In general.--In the case of a remarriage which is 
     dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment within the 4-year 
     period ending on the day before the effective date of this 
     section, the amendments made by this section shall apply only 
     if the widow or widower satisfies the requirements of 
     paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 376(x) of title 28, United 
     States Code (as amended by this section) before--
       (i) the end of the 1-year period beginning on the effective 
     date of this section; or
       (ii) such later date as Director of the Administrative 
     Office of the United States Courts may by regulation 
     prescribe.
       (B) Restoration.--If the requirements of paragraph (1) are 
     satisfied, the survivor annuity shall be restored, commencing 
     on the date the remarriage was dissolved by death, annulment, 
     or divorce, at the rate which was in effect when the annuity 
     was terminated.
       (C) Lump-sum payment.--Any amounts becoming payable to the 
     widow or widower under this subsection for the period 
     beginning on the date on which the annuity was terminated and 
     ending on the date on which periodic annuity payments resume 
     shall be payable in a lump-sum payment.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to give 
all Members 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on 
House bill 7082, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for bringing House bill 7082, 
the Inmate Tax Fraud Prevention Act of 2008, to the House.
  Mr. Ramstad has served at my side on the Oversight Subcommittee for 
years. He has been a wonderful friend, a good friend. We call ourselves 
brothers. He will be missed when he retires this year. He has worked to 
make our taxes fair and to protect taxpayers. This bill is a great and 
shining example of his good effort.
  Jim, I want to thank you again for all of your great work, for 
working so hard, for hanging in there, for never giving up, and for 
never giving in. Thank you so much.
  The Oversight Subcommittee found that thousands of false returns were 
being filed by prisoners. However, the Internal Revenue Service could 
not disclose the information to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This 
bill was developed to correct this problem. This bill will stop the 
abuse of our tax system.
  I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in 
favor of House bill 7082.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I first want to thank my friend, my brother and my chairman--Mr. 
Lewis--who represents the absolute best in public service and who is 
truly the conscience of the Congress. I'm just grateful for his 
friendship and for the privilege of working with him for the past 18 
years.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us addresses a very serious 
situation in America's prisons--rampant tax fraud. I'm deeply grateful 
to Chairman Lewis for being an original cosponsor of this legislation 
and for helping me get this crucial legislation on the suspension 
calendar and here to the floor today.
  When I chaired the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee in the last 
Congress, Mr. Speaker, we held a hearing that featured an inmate from 
our Federal prison system. He was known as inmate Dole, a prisoner from 
South Carolina who single-handedly swindled taxpayers out of $3.5 
million by filing fraudulent tax returns. That's right, Mr. Speaker, 
$3.5 million of outrageous tax fraud committed by a prisoner while he 
was behind bars, while incarcerated in a Federal prison.
  The hearing revealed that this was no isolated incident. There is 
massive tax fraud going on within the walls of our Nation's prisons. In 
fact, the IRS reports that 15 percent of all tax fraud committed in 
America is committed by prison inmates, 15 percent.
  As we all agree here, tax fraud in any form is unacceptable and 
illegal, obviously, but it's particularly outrageous when it's 
committed by prison inmates who are supposed to be paying their debt to 
society and not bilking taxpayers. While the IRS is able to catch some 
of it, far too much inmate tax fraud falls through the cracks. 
Unfortunately, the IRS is prohibited by law

[[Page H10200]]

from sharing information with prison officials, information that would 
allow them to take action to punish and to stop this fraud from going 
on in their prison facilities right under their noses. So, in other 
words, Mr. Speaker, Federal law enforcement is effectively blocked from 
pursuing these cases because of the ban on information sharing.
  Well, this legislation that I have introduced and have brought here 
today, the Inmate Tax Fraud Prevention Act, would allow the IRS to 
reveal information on tax fraud to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and to 
compile statistics on tax fraud in each and every Federal and State 
prison. The authority for the IRS to disclose tax fraud information 
sunsets in 3 years, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax 
Administration will issue a report, so in 3 years, Congress can 
determine whether the program should be renewed and whether other 
changes should be implemented.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, let me just say that it's obviously time 
to protect honest taxpayers from this blatant, outrageous fraud that's 
being committed by prison inmates. I urge my colleagues to protect this 
commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will protect the taxpayers. 
Support the Inmate Tax Fraud Prevention Act because the taxpayers of 
America deserve nothing less.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire as to 
whether Mr. Ramstad has any additional speakers.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I am prepared to close, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, having no further speakers, I would be 
happy to yield back my time, and I look forward to Mr. Lewis' closing.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank my friend 
from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad) for his good and great work for bringing 
this bill before us today. The Inmate Tax Fraud Prevention Act is an 
important bill, and I urge its passage. I fully support House bill 
7082, and I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
support this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 7082, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to amend the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 to permit the Secretary of the Treasury to 
disclose certain prisoner return information to the Federal Bureau of 
Prisons, and for other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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