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Washington, D.C.—The head of the union representing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees today applauded action by the House Appropriations Committee to include language in a fiscal 2006 funding bill that would restrict the use of agency funds to close Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). The IRS has said it wants to close 68 of these facilities nationwide by Sept. 30.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)—which strenuously opposes the closings, as do many members of Congress and others—called the committee decision during its markup of the 2006 Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill “a positive step.”

In yesterday’s markup, the full committee retained language approved by a subcommittee last week that would prevent the closing of any TAC until the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) studies the impact of such a closing and reports to both the House and Senate. The approved language also calls on the IRS to consult with stakeholders in the agency’s performance, including IRS employees, TIGTA, the IRS Oversight Board and the National Taxpayer Advocate.

Kelley said that in the wake of this important step forward in keeping the TACs open, NTEU will continue to work for “a complete prohibition” against the proposal. The union and its chapters around the country have been leading the fight to retain the TACs in the face of IRS efforts to cut back on the face-to-face help it provides taxpayers.

Along with the shutdown of the 68 TACs, the IRS plans to close telephone call sites in Boston, Chicago and Houston, and cut back by 15 hours a week the amount of time telephone assistance is available to taxpayers.

Members of Congress have expressed serious reservations about the impact of these cuts on their constituents. In addition, the agency’s plans have drawn criticism from TIGTA, the public-private IRS Oversight Board and IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, as well as from advocates of taxpayers who seek help from the agency.

Nearly 7.7 million people got tax and related help from IRS TACs across the country last year, including those in groups for whom the face-to-face assistance is particularly important. These include older men and women, those without access to the Internet, lower-income taxpayers and those for whom English is not their first language.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments, including some 94,000 in the IRS.