FederalDaily - November 1, 2006
IRS Study Needs Better Design, GAO Says
A proposed study comparing the efficacy of private debt collectors with the IRS’ own employees
is a faulty apples-and-oranges evaluation that won’t yield any useful results, a new government
report said. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) looked at the IRS’ contract with private
collection agencies (PCAs) as part of an effort to help close the $132 billion tax gap. IRS launched
its Private Debt Collection program in September with a limited implementation, and plans to expand
through January 2008, the report said. Prior to expansion, IRS plans a study comparing the use of PCAs
with the work of IRS staff. But GAO said that study design is imperfect because it will not compare
the results of using PCAs with the results IRS staff collectors could get if given the same amount
of resources, including the fees to be paid to PCAs, the report said. The “IRS risks not providing
complete information that decision makers would find useful,” the report said. “Adequately
designing and implementing the study is important to ensure policymakers are aware of the true costs
of contracting with PCAs.” To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-06-1065
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U.S. Puts 14 Percent More Agents on Border
The Border Patrol hired 1,532 new agents this year, exceeding staffing goals and expanding its security
force by 14 percent since last November, said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The new
hires bring the total Border Patrol force to 12,349 agents, a dramatic increase from the approximately
10,000 agents on the border prior to 9/11, Chertoff said Oct. 30. The additional agents are part of
the Department of Homeland Security’s Secure Border Initiative, which is meant to tighten the
border and build the tactical infrastructure—more lighting, fencing and vehicle barriers—to
reduce illegal crossings. So far, it’s been working, Chertoff says. Arrests fell 8.4 percent,
from 1.2 million in FY 2005 to 1.1 million last year. It was the first decrease since 2003, Chertoff
said. To see more, go to: www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1162293386835.shtm
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EPA Closes Key Chemical Library
Without advance warning, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed its specialized library
for research on the effects and properties of chemicals—a unique technical collection highly
prized by scientists, a public employees union said. According to documents released Oct. 30 by the
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the EPA has closed the facility, known as
the Office of Prevention, Pollution and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) Library, in the agency’s Washington,
D.C., headquarters. The library’s valuable, paper-only collection has been moved into boxes,
which are currently stored in a basement cafeteria. EPA laid off three librarians and two technical
staff. The OPPTS closing is part of a larger agency plan to shutter 10 percent of EPA’s network
of laboratories and research centers, which currently employ about 2,000 scientists. “Without
this research assistance, EPA scientists have fewer resources to conduct thorough analyses on hundreds
of new chemicals for which companies are clamoring for agency approval to launch each year into the
mainstream of American commerce,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. To see more, go to: www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=778
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