Oversight Subcommittee to Hold Federal Employees Accountable for Unpaid Taxes

BACKGROUND:

• The Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch state that all executive branch employees are responsible for satisfying in good faith their financial obligations, especially those imposed by law.
• Since 1992, the Internal Revenue Service has used the Federal Employee/Retiree Delinquency Initiative (FERDI) program to promote federal tax compliance among current and retired federal employees.  The program incorporates the purpose and intent of the aforementioned Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Executive Branch. According to the 2013 report, civilian employees owed $1.076 billion in federal taxes, and 4.07 percent of the federal workforce was considered delinquent.
• The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that thousands of government contractors had substantial amounts of unpaid federal taxes.  Specifically, about 27,000 defense contractors, 33,000 civilian agency contractors, and 3,800 General Services Administration contractors owed approximately $3 billion, $3.3 billion, and $1.4 billion in unpaid taxes, respectively.

HEARING DETAILS:

WHAT: “Federal Workforce Tax Accountability”

WHERE: 2247 Rayburn House Office Building

DATE: Wednesday, March 18, 2015

TIME: 1:00 p.m. EST

WITNESS LIST:

Mr. Brad Huther

Chief Financial Officer

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Mr. E.J. Holland, Jr.

Assistant Secretary for Administration

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Mr. Seto Bagdoyan

Director, Audit Services, Forensic Audits and Investigative Service

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Mr. Alan Chvotkin

Executive Vice President and Counsel

Professional Services Counsel

Ms. Maureen Gilman

Legislative and Political Director

National Treasury Employees Union