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Washington, D.C.— National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley praised the House Ways and Means Committee action today that backed an administration request to modify a 1998 law requiring the termination of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees for certain violations in the performance of their official duties.
The union leader said that while their were indications earlier this week that the Committee would not support the administration’s call for allowing the IRS Commissioner to “establish guidelines outlining specific penalties up to and including termination,” the Committee did vote unanimously today in support of the provision.
“All along we have sought fundamental fairness for IRS employees in the modification of the overly harsh provisions of 1203(b). The House Ways and Means Committee has acted responsibly, and has taken a significant step toward improving IRS employee morale and effectiveness,” said Kelley.
Section 1203(b) of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA) requires the termination of employees for specific violations. Known among employees as the “10 deadly sins,” the list of violations includes the failure to timely file tax returns even when a refund is expected.
In the administration’s budget request, and included by the House Ways and Means Committee in its “Taxpayer Protection and IRS Accountability Act of 2002, failure to file a refund return and allegations of wrongful conduct by IRS employees against other IRS employees would be removed from the list of Section 1203(b). The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and the administration had both stated that these types of allegations “can be addressed by existing administrative and statutory procedures."
The House Ways and Means Committee-approved measure would add unauthorized inspection of returns or return information to the list of violations.
The key element of the measure for IRS employees, said Kelley, is the provision giving the IRS Commissioner the authority to establish guidelines outlining penalties up to and including termination.
Kelly said she looks forward to approval by the full House of the measure in support of IRS employees and the important work they do on behalf of America and the American people.