FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Release #105-318
May 7, 1998

Many provisions in the Senate's legislation were in direct response to concerns raised by oversight hearings held by the Senate Finance Committee last fall and this spring.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE) delivered the following statement on the Senate floor:

"Mr. President, as we bring these deliberations on IRS restructuring to a close, I want to express my appreciation for everyone who has strongly supported this necessary legislation. And I want to reiterate my belief that the Internal Revenue Service -- with its 102,000 employees -- is filled with hard-working, service-oriented, honorable men and women.

"The problem, Mr. President, is that the agency, itself, has too much power and not enough sunshine. It is marked by an environment where even a few overly aggressive, vindictive, arrogant, or power-hungry individuals can get away with trampling the rights of honest Americans. It is an environment where honesty can be met by retaliation, where employees are frightened to come forward to report and correct abuses, and where the taxpayer is often perceived as the enemy and not the customer.

"The legislation we have passed today will go a long way towards correcting these problems. Will it do everything we would like it to do? No. There needs to be a cultural shift inside the agency itself. This legislation will provide a catalyst for that shift. Is this bill a good start toward long-term reform? Absolutely.

"This legislation will allow Commissioner Rossotti to implement the necessary reforms and restructuring that need to be done to bring the agency into the 21st century. It is a strong bill, building on what the House passed last November. It is what the American people need to strengthen fundamental protections. However, Congress must not see this as the be-all-and-end-all of offering taxpayers the protection and service they need when it comes to the IRS. We need to continue our oversight efforts. We need to make sure that the provisions we have included in our legislation are taken seriously by the agency and embraced in the manner in which they are intended.

"Mr. President, this thorough and comprehensive piece of legislation is the product of a collective effort. It represents the best work and thinking from both sides of the aisle. I express my sincere appreciation to my colleagues, particularly Senator Moynihan, as well as Senators Charles Grassley and Bob Kerrey, both of whom worked on the National Restructuring Commission with Congressman Rob Portman. I'm grateful to Chairman Archer and those on the Ways and Means Committee who provided a solid foundation upon which we built this legislation, and to my colleagues on the Finance Committee who diligently sat through our extensive oversight and restructuring hearings and voted this legislation out of committee unanimously. I am also grateful to those who have spoken so eloquently as proponents of this legislation here on the floor.

"I also appreciate the hard work our staffs have put in. I'm grateful to our investigators -- Eric Thorson, Debbie McMahon, Kathryn Quinn, Anita Horn, and Maureen Barry. I'm grateful to Frank Polk, Joan Woodward, and Mark Patterson, to Tom Roesser, Mark Prater, Sam Olchyk, Brig Pari, Bill Sweetnam, Jeff Kupfer, Nick Giordano, and Ann Urban. I also want to thank Jane Butterfield, Mark Blair, and Darcell Savage.

"I believe the future will remember the work we have done here. The history of the Internal Revenue Service is marked by aggressive tax collecting tactics and consequent Congressional efforts to reform the agency. Those reforms, however, often did not go far enough, and they were not accompanied by a dedication to sincere oversight. These reforms, Mr. President, do go far. They are the most extensive reforms ever made to balance power and responsibility inside what can only be characterized as one of America's most powerful agencies. And, as we have heard over the past few days here on the floor, this Congress is dedicated to continued oversight."