IRS panel makes a pitch

IRS Modernization program update

The oversight board of the Internal Revenue Service says the agency couldrun out of money for its modernization efforts by the end of this fiscalyear, and it is requesting that the Bush administration and Congress providea "substantial longer-term investment in modernization and improvement."

"The IRS Oversight Board is concerned that for the first time, the [InformationTechnology Investment Account] will have a zero balance by the end of fiscal2001," the board said last week in a paper justifying recommendations.

The board, created in 1998, was designed to act like a corporate boardof directors for the IRS and to assist Congress with oversight responsibilities.This is the first year the board has voiced its opinion on the IRS budget.

Larry Levitan, board chairman, said the requested funds are critical.The IRS is "brittle. Eventually something is going to happen, and [it's]going to fall apart," he said.

The board is requesting $450 million in fiscal 2002 for the account.However, the Bush administration's preliminary budget proposes just $400million.

The difference may seem small, but the funds are crucial to completingthe modernization effort on time, board officials said. "It's been too longalready," Levitan said.

It's not clear what influence the oversight board has on the budgetprocess. But one observer said those recommendations could be a mere footnoteat the bottom of the budget justification.

"There is no model for this," said board spokeswoman Joelle Jordan.Dorobek is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Va.