Bob Kerrey: “Yes, 800,000 a month of contacts to the IRS or audits or matters that are almost as serious as an audit that goes out to…”

“Yes, 800,000 a month of contacts to the IRS or audits or matters that are almost as serious as an audit that goes out to some taxpayers. There is no question, if we take this bill up that is lying right down there now that passed 421-4--probably pass here 100-0--there is no question that all of those taxpayers would have more power. They may still not like the outcome. They may have to pay more taxes, and not like it, but they would have a lot more power, a much more efficient agency, and a much more happy ending as a consequence. There are things that the IRS does that they ought not be required under the law to do, that nobody says they ought to be doing. Though I say again, the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Roth of Delaware, has quite accurately said, there are additional things we could do. But, for gosh sakes, given the burden the taxpayers have, given the difficulty they have, and given the broad support, after 12 public hearings, and after thousands of meetings with IRS employees and provider groups in the private sector, private sector companies that are offering competitive services, other nations' governments that have had similar problems that have gone through the similar process of trying to improve the operation of their tax collection agency--this is not something that was put together in a couple weeks' time in response to a problem identified.…”