The Internal Revenue Service, under attack by congressional Republicans, has been operating without a permanent commissioner. President Obama nominated John Koskinen on Thursday for what might be seen as a thankless job.
The president called his nominee "an expert at turning around institutions in need of reform." But Koskinen will have his work cut out for him, starting with his Senate confirmation hearing.
History With Struggling Agencies
Koskinen, 74, is a familiar figure in Washington policy circles. In his last government job, he was chairman of Freddie Mac, which buys home mortgages from lenders, and which was bankrupt when he took over in 2008. He helped lead Freddie Mac back into solvency.
Koskinen served as deputy mayor of Washington, D.C., and was chairman of the federal government's efforts to prepare for Y2K, the feared worldwide computer meltdown.
He earlier served as deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. In 2011, as threats of a government shutdown loomed, he spoke with NPR about the 1995 shutdown.
"They discovered that people cared about parks and museums; they cared about getting [Federal Housing Administration] loans," he said. "And there was a lot of that in '95 that people really didn't understand or think about ... shutting down the passport services and other things they depended upon."
Now, Koskinen is being called on to rescue another agency many Americans are struggling to understand: the IRS. It's been under attack by Republicans in Congress, who say that it unfairly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status for special scrutiny. Recent reports indicate the agency also targeted some progressive groups for scrutiny.
Questioning Ahead
The senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Utah's Orrin Hatch, complained on the Senate floor Thursday night that Obama didn't consult him about Koskinen's nomination.
"Now, I like the president. I think we're friends. But that was improper, and it was a slight that should not have happened," he said.
Beyond the slight, Hatch warned that Senate Republicans will question Koskinen about the IRS operations and procedures in his upcoming confirmation hearings.
"I will demand significant answers from Mr. Koskinen when he comes before the committee, and I think other Republicans will as well," he said. "My purpose will be twofold. First, we need to get to the truth about what happened at the IRS. And perhaps just as importantly, we need to make sure that the Obama administration is fully cooperating with our efforts, rather than using phony statements about phony scandals."
Where The Health Law Comes In
Hatch said Senate Republicans will also use the hearings to, as he put it, address many questions about the IRS' ability to implement the president's health care law.
The agency will be responsible for ensuring that most individuals have health insurance. The House on Friday approved a Republican measure preventing the IRS from carrying out any part of the new health law, a measure sure to be ignored by the Democratic-led Senate.
If the Senate confirms Koskinen, his term would last until November 2017.
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