|
| May 1, 1998 |
Why Don't the American People Have a Right to Know?
Minority Party Again Assails Exposure of IRS Abuse
This is an effort to sensationalize a campaign ... I think to a certain extent these hearings are staged, and they're staged to maximize the sensationalist approach... For whatever reason, and we know the reason, pure politics, Republicans have held back passing the law so they can continue to sensationalize the issue." [Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, press conference, 4/30/98]Through arduous, painstaking work, the Senate Finance Committee led by Chairman Roth has uncovered over the course of 13 hearings, 8 of them specifically on oversight, abuses by the Internal Revenue Service that have shocked the nation. These hearings have revealed episodes of virtually every abuse imaginable of taxpayers, public servants, and of the public trust.
To Americans these incidents of flagrant, unbridled abuse of government authority must seem alien for our nation, as they learned of the horrific incidents which until now, were known only to the victims who had been forced by their abusers to endure them in silence and anonymity. They have made a deep and lasting impression on all who have heard them and they will lead to the strongest, most detailed reform of the IRS since its inception.
Yet some in this Congress want to make a far different impression on the American people: they want, for their own partisan reasons, to chalk this hearing up to sensationalism, and politics. In response, on the reverse side, are summaries of just a few of the incidents these hearings have uncovered. They raise questions for those cynically questioning the purpose of these hearings:
- Which of the hearings should have been canceled?
- What taxpayer or IRS employee's story shouldn't have been told?
- What reform in the bill addressing these abuses shouldn't have been included?
Read some "Taxpayer Horror Stories"
TOP PUBLICATIONS MAIN PAGE