Political Quotes

“no longer is there any doubt that Congress must audit the Internal Revenue Service. The hearings that have recently been held in the Senate Finance Committee have brought out under the glare of public scrutiny what many taxpayers already know from personal experience: the IRS needs reform. We have been made aware of incidents of flagrant, unbridled abuse of government authority which until now were known only to the victims of an agency that has expanded far beyond its intended size and scope and is clearly guilty of violating the public's trust. While these problems have been successfully highlighted by the Finance Committee, I would like to take just a moment to reiterate some of the more glaring examples of IRS abuse: Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker was victimized by an IRS agent in Tennessee who, in an attempt to advance his own bureaucratic career, tried to frame Baker of money-laundering and bribery charges. After the agent was exposed, IRS authorities, rather than engaging in a reform effort to root out similar abuses in the future, tried to cover up for the rogue official. IRS agents, armed with automatic weapons and attack dogs, raided John Colaprete's business after a former bookkeeper, who had embezzled $40,000, leveled bizarre and unsubstantiated allegations. Again, the charges were completely unfounded and none were filed.”