Lott, Daschle, disagree on IRS board

Despite a bipartisan commitment to expedite Senate consideration of IRS reform legislation this week, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., nevertheless today found things to disagree over with regard to the bill--namely, the makeup of the oversight board the measure would create and how the measure should be paid for.

Lott said emphatically the oversight board should not include a union representative or the Treasury Secretary--because they would compromise the board's independence--while Daschle supported their inclusion, noting it was recommended by the bipartisan commission on IRS reform and is in the bill reported out of committee.

Daschle said it would be "ill advised" for Republicans to offer a floor amendment to remove the two members from the proposed board, and that Democrats "may have some amendments to counter that," although he would not elaborate.

Lott told reporters he intends to meet with Finance Chairman Roth either late today or Tuesday to discuss options for offsetting the bill's estimated $7 billion cost over five years. Although no decisions on how to pay for the bill have been made, Lott did say, "I would have no problem with waiving the budget [rules] on this item." And he declared: "I would not consider tax increases at all. I would prefer offsets other than tax increases."

Although Daschle said Democrats "are supportive of the legislation by and large," he also said, "We can't violate the budget agreement" and not fully offset the bill's cost. And while stressing that Democrats are "determined to find ways to rid the IRS of abuse," Daschle said the reform bill must not strip the agency of its legitimate and necessary law enforcement powers.