Chairman Goodlatte Statement at Hearing on "Examining the Allegations of Misconduct Against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Part I"

Chairman Goodlatte: The Constitution sets forth a system of checks and balances which grants each branch of government tools to ensure that no one branch of government attains too much power.  The legislative branch’s tools include the power to write the laws, the power of the purse, the impeachment power, and the power to censure, among others. These tools empower Congress to exert oversight over the executive and judicial branches, including rooting out corruption, fraud and abuse by government officials and taking further disciplinary action on behalf of the American people when warranted. The duty to serve as a check on the other branches, including against corruption and abuse, is a solemn one and Congress does not and must not take this responsibility lightly. That is why this committee has scheduled the hearing today. In 2013, the American people first learned that their own government had been singling out conservative groups for heightened review by the IRS as they applied for tax exempt status.  This IRS targeting scandal was nothing short of shocking.  It was a political plan to silence the voices of groups representing millions of Americans. Conservative groups across the nation were impacted by this targeting, resulting in lengthy paperwork requirements, overly burdensome information requests, and long, unwarranted delays in their applications.  In the wake of this scandal, then-IRS official Louis Lerner stepped down from her position, but questions remain about the scope of the abuses by the IRS. The allegations of misconduct against Koskinen are serious and include the following.  On his watch, volumes of information crucial to the investigation into the IRS targeting scandal were destroyed.  Before the tapes were destroyed, Congressional demands, including subpoenas, for information about the IRS targeting scandal went unanswered.  Koskinen provided misleading testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concerning IRS efforts to provide information to Congress. These are very serious allegations of misconduct and this committee has taken these allegations seriously.  Over the past several months, this committee has meticulously poured through thousands of pages of information produced by the investigation into this matter, resulting in this hearing today, which will give the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee the opportunity to formally present its findings and evidence to the Members of this committee. We will hear from Representative Jason Chaffetz, the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as well as Representative Ron DeSantis, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security.  They will each have ten minutes to discuss the evidence their committee investigation has uncovered.  Chairman Chaffetz will also present a video regarding this matter.  It is worth noting that Commissioner Koskinen was also invited to the hearing, but he declined the invitation. Following the witnesses’ testimony, each Judiciary Committee Member will be allowed to ask the witnesses questions for five minutes. For more on today’s hearing, click here. ###