[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FEDERAL EMPLOYEE TAX ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2012

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, once again the House finds itself 
considering a bill that unfairly targets the hard working public 
servants who every day are providing a wide array of public services 
from helping to nurse our wounded veterans, to discovering cures and 
treatments for diseases that plague millions of American families, to 
ensuring aviation safety, to protecting our borders, public safety and 
the food supply. Over the last two years, our Republican colleagues 
have repeatedly brought legislation to the floor to slash the pay and 
benefits of civil servants in order to protect special tax breaks for 
the super wealthy and special interests.
  Obviously, all Americans should pay their taxes, and those who fail 
to do so should be penalized. But federal employees should not be 
denied the full complement of due process rights that are available to 
any other American. This bill would result in the firing of federal 
employees who may be legitimately contesting a tax liability through 
the established process. Moreover, by linking the firing of a federal 
employee to a lien, this bill would result in the firing of individuals 
who are already in the process of satisfying their tax obligation. 
There are already laws and regulations on the books that address how 
tax debt should be handled and how federal employees who are delinquent 
on their payments should be disciplined.
  In 2002, the IRS asked Congress to change the standard for 
determining when an agency was mandated to fire employees. Rather than 
firing every employee who fails to properly file their tax return, IRS 
created a hierarchy of penalties based on the seriousness and 
willfulness of the offense. This bill throws out that process and 
treats all delinquencies as if they were willful and deliberate.
  Comparatively, federal employees have a compliance rate that is 
higher than the average American taxpayer. In 2010, 3.35 percent of 
federal employees were delinquent in their tax payments. That same 
year, the delinquency rate for the total universe of American taxpayers 
was 7.4 percent. Instead of making public servants the target of new, 
unnecessary and unfair legislation, we should instead be focusing on 
uniform ways to strengthen and better enforce existing laws and 
regulations governing tax delinquency.

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