EXPANSION OF DUTIES OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION.

SEC. 4001. EXPANSION OF DUTIES OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION. (a) In General.— Section 8021 (relating to the powers of the Joint Committee on Taxation) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: “(e) Investigations.— The Joint Committee shall review all requests (other than requests by the chairman or ranking member of a committee or subcommittee) for investigations of the Internal Revenue Service by the General Accounting Office, and approve such requests when appropriate, with a view towards eliminating overlapping investigations, ensuring that the General Accounting Office has the capacity to handle the investigation, and ensuring that investigations focus on areas of primary importance to tax administration. “(f) Relating to Joint Reviews.— “(1) In general.— The Chief of Staff, and the staff of the Joint Committee, shall provide such assistance as is required for joint reviews described in paragraph (2). “(2) Joint reviews.— Before June 1 of each calendar year after 1998 and before 2004, there shall be a joint review of the strategic plans and budget for the Internal Revenue Service and such other matters as the Chairman of the Joint Committee deems appropriate. Such joint review shall be held at the call of the Chairman of the Joint Committee and shall include two members of the majority and one member of the minority from each of the Committees on Finance, Appropriations, and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on 112 STAT. 784Ways and Means, Appropriations, and Government Reform and Oversight of the House of Representatives.”. (b) Effective Dates.— (1) Subsection (e) of section 8021 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply to requests made after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) Subsection (f) of such section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.