8, 1982, THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY EDIATELY SUSPEND ANY DETERMINATION OR WITH RESPECT TO THE ABOVE ISSUE UNTIL ALLEN WINBORNE DO NOT TYPE BEYOND THIS LINE DO NOT TYPE MESSAGE BEYOND THIS LINE PAGES Senator MOYNIHAN. And may I make one other statement? These hearings this morning have not confused anything. I think they have been very good hearings. And I want to thank everyone, including yourself, Mr. Egger, and Mr. Gideon. I know a lot more about this subject than I did when I came in this morning. Commissioner EGGER. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Moynihan. I appreciate that. I have a question that Senator Durenberger wanted me to ask: If Congress decides, looking at the administration's bill, that theirs needs more specific legislative guidelines, do you have any recommendations now? Or are you content to wait and find out if we need to provide more guidelines? Do you have any suggestions if you were going to volunteer any additions? Commissioner EGGER. I believe the bill is adequate to deal with the private school race discrimination issue, but it does not go to the many, many interpretive questions that are inherent in the statute and which will in due course need some kind of clarification. We are undoubtedly going to be working with the Treasury to take a more indepth look at all of these other issues. Much of it is going to depend on what happens in the case of some of these court issues that we will be facing here in the near future. The CHAIRMAN. Under prior law and under the administration's proposal, what reporting requirements regarding race are imposed on churches and church-related schools claiming tax-exempt status? Commissioner EGGER. I think you are asking about the returns that they have to file? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Commissioner EGGER. Well, churches as such are not required to file, but the other schools are required to file annual reports. But these are basically financial reports. The CHAIRMAN. But do the church schools file reports? Commissioner EGGER. Not necessarily. Some schools that are church affiliated do not file because they come within the church organization as such or are separately incorporated, and so on, do file. The church, or school (if separately incorporated), must file a certification of racial nondiscrimination annually with the service. The CHAIRMAN. Do you think it would be of any value if the Court would proceed to go ahead and decide the cases, the Jones and Goldsboro cases? Would that be of any help to you? Commissioner EGGER. Well, it would certainly be a help if the Court would Senator MOYNIHAN. Careful. [Laughter.] Commissioner EGGER. If the Court would decide the first amendment issue that is inherent in these two cases. The CHAIRMAN. Do you think, as Mr. McNamar suggested, they might only decide that you didn't have the authority, rather than the big question? Commissioner EGGER. I think that's a possibility. Yes, indeed. The CHAIRMAN. I don't know how we can determine what the Court will decide, but we wish they would proceed. Now, we don't have any way to send that message. We thought about calling the Chief Justice as a witness, but I don't think he would appreciate that. [Laughter.] But it would seem to us it would certainly be helpful. I mean, people on both sides then would know that we have addressed that one area. And if they did in fact say there was no authority, it exceeded your authority, that would pressure the Congress to move. Right now I think we are in the same predicament as others, and I think Senator Moynihan may have correctly stated the fate of this legislation. It is uncertain. Senator MOYNIHAN. Uncertain. Yes, Mr. Chairman. That is an elegantly oblique observation. The CHAIRMAN. Is there anything else? Mr. Gideon? Mr. Egger? Well, if not, we appreciate it very much, and as we dig into this more or dig out of it more, depending on your point of view, we may be talking to you. [Whereupon, at 2:06 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] |