Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 997, the National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act, introduced by my Committee on Ways and Means colleagues, Representatives Feenstra and Davis. The National Taxpayer Advocate exists to promote and defend the rights of American taxpayers. In order to achieve these goals, not only should the advocate be independent from the IRS, but the staff assisting the advocate should be as well. Yet, right now, the attorneys hired to assist the National Taxpayer Advocate report to IRS legal counsel, are accountable to IRS legal counsel, and answer to IRS legal counsel, not the National Taxpayer Advocate. It is a situation that begs for conflicts of interest to occur. It risks undermining the ability of the National Taxpayer Advocate to trust that the legal advice that she receives is without any undue influence from the IRS. It certainly undermines the ability of the American taxpayer to have faith that the National Taxpayer Advocate's service is adhering to its mission. The National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act gives the NTA the authority to hire her own lawyers, who will report directly to her, rather than be accountable to the IRS, the very agency whose behavior the advocate exists to scrutinize and defend against. The American people have a well-founded fear of the IRS given its dismal track record of violating the rights of taxpayers.…”