An interview with Paul Cherecwich: former TEI President discusses his service on the IRS oversight board.

• Position: Interview

TEI: Congratulations on your appointment to the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board. Can you give us a little background about the Board?

PC: The Oversight Board was created by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. It actually didn't commence operations until 2000. The Board's role is to strategically govern the IRS. Congress wanted accountability, continuity of tax administration, and the expertise of the private sector.

TEI: Who makes up the Board?

PC: The Board consists of nine members, including the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The remaining seven members are known as "private life" members, and include a person who is either a full-time federal employee or a representative of IRS employees.

TEI: Is service on the Board a full- or part-time job?

PC: It was conceived as a part-time job, although given the amount of reading material and travel time, I am beginning to wonder. I am the only retired person among the private life members, so I imagine their nights and weekends are pretty full.

TEI: How did you get this job?

PC: Private life members are nominated by the President, and confirmed by the Senate. The President announced my nomination in May 2006. My confirmation hearing was conducted by the Senate Finance Committee in November 2006, and the full Senate voted to confirm my nomination in December 2006.

TEI: Let me ask the question again. How did you get this job?

PC: When I was TEI's International President in 1997 and 1998, I was involved on behalf of TEI in the discussions that led to the enactment of IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. At that time, I thought that one day it might be nice to be a Board member. I retired from Utah-based Cordant Technologies in late 2000, and began working part time for Miller & Chevalier. When I retired from Miller & Chevalier at the end of 2004, there were vacancies on the Board, so I asked Evan Liddiard of Sen. Orrin Hatch's office if he thought I would make an appropriate candidate. He encouraged me to apply for the position, as did former IRS Commissioner Larry Gibbs, one of my colleagues at Miller & Chevalier. Sen. Hatch wrote a letter of endorsement to the White House in my behalf, as did former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy Pamela Olson.

TEI: There was a long time between your nomination and your confirmation hearing. Was the process arduous?

PC: On paper at least, I had to go through the same process as any...