Bob Kerrey: “The present-law structure impedes continuity and accountability. I emphasize this. This is one of the big complaints to…”

“The present-law structure impedes continuity and accountability. I emphasize this. This is one of the big complaints to the Restructuring Commission and the hearings that Senator Roth had. We heard repeatedly from taxpayers that they just didn't know what was going on; something would start and stop. They did not get continuity and accountability under present law. For example, if a taxpayer moves--let's say a taxpayer decides that they would rather live in Omaha, NE, than Portland, OR--a logical move, it seems to me. They decide they want to go from Oregon to Nebraska. Responsibility for the taxpayer's account would move to another geographical area. It would transfer to the Nebraska area. Every taxpayer is served by a service center in at least one district. So in addition to the new service area, there is a new service center. Thus, many taxpayers have to work with different offices on the same issue. Thus, again, they fail to provide the continuity. They fail to provide the accountability that everybody expects when they are dealing with any private sector organization. The proposed structure would eliminate many of these problems.”