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Washington, D.C.— The nomination of a Treasury Department executive to the employee representative seat on the IRS Oversight Board is strongly opposed by the head of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

“IRS employees deserve a meaningful voice on this influential public-private body,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “The clear language of the statute setting up the board refers to the appointment of either a rank-and-file IRS employee or employee representative. The president’s nominee—Kenneth Carfine, Treasury Fiscal Assistant Secretary—is neither, and should not be confirmed for this position.”

In a letter to President Bush, the union leader asked that the nomination be withdrawn, stating “I am unaware of any employee representation role that Mr. Carfine has ever played at the IRS.”

The nine-member Oversight Board, which was established in the 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act (RRA), plays an important role in reviewing IRS operations and policies, and in making recommendations for improvements, including on the agency’s budget.

She emphasized the reasoning behind the provision calling for an employee representative on the Oversight Board—namely, the existence of concerns raised during discussions about RRA that Congress was not getting a true picture of IRS operations, and that providing a high-level forum and meaningful voice for frontline IRS employees was critical to obtaining that information.

“Congress’ legislative intent that the IRS Oversight Board needs the viewpoint of IRS employees to enhance its decision making is crystal clear,” President Kelley said. “This nomination disregards the opinions of frontline federal employees.”

NTEU is recommending the re-nomination of the current holder of the employee representative seat, Robert M. Tobias, former NTEU president.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including 90,000 in the IRS.