National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 997) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to conform to the intent of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, as set forth in the joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference accompanying Conference Report 105-599, that the National Taxpayer Advocate be able to hire and consult counsel as appropriate, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 997

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF TAXPAYER ADVOCATE TO APPOINT COUNSEL.

(a) In General.--Section 7803(c)(2)(D)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of subclause (I), by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause (III), and by inserting after subclause (I) the following new subclause:

``(II) appoint counsel in the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate to report directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate, or delegate thereof; and''.

(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 7803(c)(2)(D)(i)(III) of such Code, as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by striking ``any employee of any local office of a taxpayer advocate described in subclause (I)'' and inserting ``any employee of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate''.

(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of section 1102 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 997, the National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act, introduced by my Committee on Ways and Means colleagues, Representatives Feenstra and Davis.

The National Taxpayer Advocate exists to promote and defend the rights of American taxpayers. In order to achieve these goals, not only should the advocate be independent from the IRS, but the staff assisting the advocate should be as well.

Yet, right now, the attorneys hired to assist the National Taxpayer Advocate report to IRS legal counsel, are accountable to IRS legal counsel, and answer to IRS legal counsel, not the National Taxpayer Advocate.

It is a situation that begs for conflicts of interest to occur. It risks undermining the ability of the National Taxpayer Advocate to trust that the legal advice that she receives is without any undue influence from the IRS. It certainly undermines the ability of the American taxpayer to have faith that the National Taxpayer Advocate's service is adhering to its mission.

The National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act gives the NTA the authority to hire her own lawyers, who will report directly to her, rather than be accountable to the IRS, the very agency whose behavior the advocate exists to scrutinize and defend against.

The American people have a well-founded fear of the IRS given its dismal track record of violating the rights of taxpayers. The very least we can do is ensure that an entity that exists to fight on behalf of taxpayers actually has a clearly defined and reinforced independence from the IRS.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I imagine the American people would be surprised and no doubt disappointed to learn that the very organization whose mission it is to advocate on behalf of taxpayers relies on legal advice provided by attorneys who are employed by, and answer to, the IRS. It is a bizarre arrangement to be sure.

The National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act will ensure that the attorneys serving the NTA are hired by her and accountable to her. This will also allow the Advocate's office to promote attorneys from within that organization, helping to retain their talent, experience, and expertise.

Mr. Speaker, the Ways and Means Committee approved this legislation with unanimous consent, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House to do the same.

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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