§7802 Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board

Summary

Creates a nine-person board inside the Treasury Department to watch over how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) runs. Six members are private citizens chosen by the President and confirmed by the Senate. One member is the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Deputy if the Secretary names them). One member is the IRS Commissioner. One member is a full-time federal employee or employee representative, also appointed by the President with Senate approval. The six private members must have experience in areas like running big service organizations, customer service, tax law, IT, organization development, and taxpayer or small-business needs. These appointed members serve 5-year terms, with two of the first group serving 3 years, two serving 4 years, and two serving 5 years. No one may serve more than two full 5-year terms. Vacancies are filled the same way as the original appointment. Five members make a quorum, and a majority of those present is needed to act. The President may remove the appointed members at will. The Treasury Secretary or Commissioner leaves the board if they leave their office. Appointed members must follow federal financial disclosure and certain post-work rules; special rules apply if a member is a "special Government employee," and the President can grant a narrow waiver for the federal-employee member when nominating them (the waiver must be sent to the Senate with the nomination). Appointed members who are not already federal employees get $30,000 a year, the Chair gets $50,000, and members may be paid travel expenses. The Chair, chosen for a 2-year term from the President’s appointees, sets meetings, agendas, and committees. The Board must meet at least quarterly and can hire staff or get detailed federal employees to help. The board’s job is to oversee the IRS’s management and operations so the agency can carry out its mission. The board must keep things confidential when needed. It reviews and approves IRS strategic plans, operational plans (like modernization, outsourcing, and training), and the IRS budget request. The board can recommend who should be Commissioner and ask the President to remove the Commissioner. It reviews senior executive choices and must approve major reorganization plans. The board sends the approved IRS budget to the Treasury Secretary, who must forward it to the President; the President then sends it unchanged to Congress with the annual budget. The board must work to protect taxpayers from improper treatment by IRS staff. The board has no role in creating tax law or tax policy, in specific law-enforcement or collection actions, in individual procurement actions, or in most specific personnel matters except for the duties described above. Members have no personal liability for acts within their board duties. The board must report each year to the President and certain Congressional committees, and it must report to Congress sooner if it finds the IRS’s organization or operations prevent the agency from doing its job.