Austin Scott: “So it is very important. And let me get to the other area very quickly, and that is the area of these private…”

“So it is very important. And let me get to the other area very quickly, and that is the area of these private contractors. We have received complaint after complaint after complaint from your constituents and our constituents who have been abused by calls. Let me give you one example of an elderly couple that was called 150 times, Madam Speaker, including five times in one day, asking for a taxpayer. And it comes to find out that they are innocent. Again, the GAO found out that debt collectors were placing over 1 million calls to innocent people just to reach 35,000 taxpayers. The Federal Trade Commission had 130 complaints as of last year giving unaccountable private tax collectors the right to look into and examine personal financial information of our taxpayers. It is wrong. Now let me tell you this, that the commissioner of the IRS himself, Mr. Douglas Sherman, has asked for this legislation. Madam Speaker, I just simply say that if the IRS is asking for this, that they could do a better job, they are the ones who we are holding responsible. We should make sure we pass this legislation and let the IRS do their job of collecting the taxes and not hand it off to these private bounty hunters.”