Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005
TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 22, 2004)
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 770 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the further consideration of the bill, H.R. 5025.
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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ISTOOK. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook) for yielding to me for the opportunity to engage in a colloquy.
As the chairman knows, I have done a great deal of work on waste, fraud, and abuse in the Congress. And in particular, I rise today to discuss the efforts that are underway in our government to address ongoing fraud that is costing our highway trust fund untold sums.
There is a significant problem going on in every State of this great Nation that is not only taking money from desperately needed transportation projects but funding organized crime activities and quite possibly terrorist activities. The issue is not glamorous and it is not dangerous. It is not punishable by high criminal penalties and, therefore, receives little attention. The issue is the fraudulent use of off-road untaxed diesel fuel as taxable on-road diesel. This type of fraud leads to a profit of nearly 50 cents a gallon in combined Federal and State taxes.
It may not sound like much. Some estimates, however, have shown that well over $1 billion a year is lost in tax revenue. In the scope of our national budget, some think $1 billion or $2 billion does not seem like a great amount, and it is not the type of thinking that will ensure the problems like these will ever get resolved.
Fortunately, the Internal Revenue Service has been examining technologies for the past few years that will give them better tools to fight this type of fraud. Make no mistake, those involved in this type of fraud are well financed, smart business people that leverage technology at every opportunity. I think it is time that we respond in kind. In order to support the IRS's efforts in finishing this fight, requests have been submitted to the chairman to fund a pilot program to put technology out in the field. What is so unique about this pilot project is that we will see immediate returns. The last time the IRS implemented a program to combat this type of fraud, there was a 22.5 percent increase in tax collections in the first 12 months. This pilot project will pay for itself and will lead to a national program that will recover potentially billions of dollars that are so desperately needed for our highways.
I would like the chairman, if he could, to comment on this pilot project, please.
Mr. ISTOOK. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman from Texas for his comments. As he knows, we are very aware of this issue, and we are concerned about the level of tax evasion and fraud that is underway. We want to arm the IRS with the best technology and an overall program not only to combat the fraud but to locate those perpetrating the fraud and put them out of business permanently. There is report language to this effect in this bill. I understand my counterpart in the Senate, Mr. Shelby, is aware of the issue as well. We will be working with him in conference to have a strong position in the final bill.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ISTOOK. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for his diligent work on this issue and others who are also doing so, and I want to thank him for his hard work on behalf of all Americans. And I thank the gentleman for engaging in this colloquy.
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