James Lankford

It might surprise you that it slowed down some in the Senate, even though it was unanimous in the House.

We will keep pressing until we get this done, because we feel it is exceptionally important

I did not doubt your answer on that, but I ask everybody, because that is the primary question.

We need engagement from this Committee so that when you are in the seat, we can have ongoing dialogue.

The Committee takes these nominations seriously. We are pleased to have three very strong candidates before us today.

Thank you again for your testimony today and for your participation and for the engagement on this issue and wearing two hats.

Well, clearly that is something that Senator Coons and I do not handle here from our appropriations, but obviously, the Finance Committee does.

The encouragement is, get the training, get the certification. Then you can help people actually get a faster return.

So in previous dialogues that I have had with IRS leadership before, there is always the carrot and the stick conversation.

We will continue to be able to follow up on that in the days ahead as well.

Tell me what has changed in the exempt organization's portion of the IRS.

I would say when we hear 'major, comprehensive way,' we typically hear outside contractor coming in, charging us a fortune for their consulting services and doing a few things.

This 5-year plan that is being discussed that the Secretary just mentioned--in the next 90 days, we will get some kind of update on that.

Thank you very much for your statement and your preparation and the ongoing work there in that role.

Being the Commissioner of the IRS is an incredibly difficult task.

I do not want to have to wait 3 years to be able to get the last year's information.

It is a big concern for me, and that is the charitable giving side.

The Judgment Fund has been an issue for awhile, just in basic transparency.

That would be helpful because, obviously, we need to be able to look at how we are going to allocate the funding.

I think that we have come back and always focused on the most pressing issues.

The policies articulated in the President's budget will foster economic growth, set our country on a sound fiscal path in the long term, and carry out the administration's commitment to protect the national security of the United States.

I have long believed that IRS regulations should be held to the same rigorous standards as other agencies.

We are not the health experts when it comes to these issues. We have consulted of course with the Federal Food and Drug Administration and with others who are responsible for determining what those standards should be. And we are confident…

I think the best thing we can probably do is model that, rather than legislate that.

This is not a partisan issue for us, but it's an issue that needs to be resolved, long term and quickly.