[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 45 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S733-S734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Daniel I. Werfel

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, in a few minutes, the Senate will vote on 
Danny Werfel's nomination to be the Commissioner of the Internal 
Revenue Service.
  Mr. Werfel told the Finance Committee that he will make his 
priorities those of delivering fairness and building trust.
  We know that he is going to do just that because he has done it 
before. President Obama asked Mr. Werfel, during a very challenging 
time, to serve as Acting Commissioner in 2013.

[[Page S734]]

Then, the Internal Revenue Service was under intense scrutiny for its 
sloppy reviews of tax-exempt organizations and their political 
activities. Mr. Werfel did his job in a way that improved trust in the 
Internal Revenue Service.
  He worked with both sides of the Senate Finance Committee. Our 
investigation found that both left-leaning and right-leaning groups 
were affected. The late Senator Orrin Hatch, a friend to many in this 
Chamber, told me on a number of occasions how much he appreciated Danny 
Werfel's professionalism and his open door for all sides.
  It is time to rebalance the American system of tax enforcement. 
Audits today, too often, are a burden that fall heavily on working 
families--on nurses and firefighters and teachers and the middle class. 
It is far too easy for the very wealthy and the multinational 
corporations, which have armies of tax lawyers and accountants, to get 
away with cheating and breaking the law. That is what the Democrats 
sought to address in the Inflation Reduction Act.
  Now, I understand that not everybody in the Chamber shares those 
priorities. However, Mr. Werfel--and I will close with this--has 
committed to the Finance Committee that he is going to work with both 
sides of the aisle and bring transparency to the job. That includes how 
the IRS will spend funding to improve taxpayer services, upgrade 
information technology, and crack down on those wealthy tax cheats. He 
is going to protect confidential taxpayer data. That is an enormous 
priority for both sides. I think I am about as big a privacy hawk as 
there is here in this body, and it is certainly a priority of mine.
  Danny Werfel is a highly qualified nominee. He has agreed to take on 
one of the toughest and most scrutinized jobs in public service. I urge 
my colleagues to now support Danny Werfel's nomination to head the 
Internal Revenue Service.
  I yield the floor.