Recognizing Harold Hirsch for His Service to the Joint Committee on Taxation of the United States

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, with Ranking Member Neal, to commend Harold Hirsch on his service to the United States Congress for over 47 years. Mr. Hirsch served as a lawyer and tax expert on the staff of the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation of the United States Congress from the beginning of 1977 to October, 2024, when he retired. Prior to 1977, Mr. Hirsch had worked as a lawyer for the office of the Judge Advocate General and for the Legislation and Regulations section at the Internal Revenue Service, government service for which we also thank him.

The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation performs useful or at times indispensable functions to Members of Congress as the Legislative Branch develops tax policy. Mr. Hirsch's legal acumen, drafting brilliance, and deep understanding of tax issues contributed to the quality of tax legislation in numerous tax bills over the period he served on the JCT staff. Though reserved, even self-effacing, Mr. Hirsch brought thoughtful commentary to the development of proposed tax legislation. He gave an extremely careful reading of proposed legislative text, and his keen eye for possible statutory errors averted problems that would otherwise have plagued taxpayers, practitioners, and government administrators alike. Mr. Hirsch's technical skills and expertise in the craft of helping Congress produce the best statutory representation of Members' intent redounded to the benefit of the American taxpayer.

This dedicated work should not go unknown and unrecognized. I thank Mr. Hirsch for his service in the field of tax legislation.

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