Chairman RANGEL. Thank you, Mr. Connery. As usual you have shown loyalty to the people you have worked with, and some of your testimony will be read later by the Commissioner. I saw the President's recent radio remarks that you should be coming back to the Congress and you should be collecting more taxes.

I hope in that same connection that while you are probably right in terms of the overall great job that is being done by the Service, that you know that it is a thankless job and so therefore, when someone believes that they have been abused or mistreated, that many times it gets more publicity than the normal harassment

case.

To that extent, we do hope that there would be a mechanism set up. You might share with us the mechanism that you have. If you are satisfied that agents that have been wrongfully accused have been exonerated, since I would believe that they would receive a lot more complaints when people were frustrated in the first place just to see them, then see if you could make some suggestions to this committee. Maybe if you are not satisfied, not that we are going to get involved in the regulations but so that we would have a better understanding as to what the agent is faced with and at the same time fulfill our commitment to constituents that are frustrated.

Mr. CONNERY. We would be pleased to do that. In my experience over the years, which goes back 20 years as an IRS agent, plus 15 years in this job, in almost every instance, I have heard these stories since I came in the Service in 1950. Almost without exception, there is 110 percent more heat than light and fact in many of these complaints. But there are always a few.

Chairman RANGEL. It is a thankless job. You know it. When you say an IRS agent, certain things trigger. What I meant was not to address the validity of all of the accusations but to find out what mechanism could be there.

Mr. CONNERY. We would be delighted to do that.

Chairman RANGEL. I appreciate how long you waited.

We will adjourn these hearings with the full understanding that the record has remained open and we will follow it through with many of the questions that were raised at the hearing, and this hearing will be adjourned subject to call of the Chair.

[Whereupon, at 4:15 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] [Submissions for the record follow:]