,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #eafb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bi1 #bjbf,mr4 ,lujn 7for himself and ,mr4 ,young7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to enhance the authority of the ,national ,taxpayer ,advocate4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,strengthening ,taxpayer ,advocacy ,act4 #b4 ,,nta authorization to make personnel decisions 7a7 ,in general ,section #ghjc7;c77#b77;,d77i77,,ii7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking any employee of any local office of a taxpayer advocate described in subclause 7,i7 and inserting any officer or employee of the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall take effect on the date which is #ab months after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #c4 ,access to ,internal ,revenue ,service information1 legal advice1 and meetings 7a7 ,in general ,section #ghjc7;c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#f7 ,access to information and meetings 7,a7 ,in general ,upon request1 the ,commissioner shall provide the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate with access to any of the following3 7i7 ,in the case of any request made by a taxpayer for assistance by the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate which is open and pending-- 7,i7 any return or return information 7as such terms are defined in section #fajc7;b77 which the ,national ,taxpayer ,advocate determines is necessary to assist such taxpayer1 7,,ii7 any legal advice provided by the staff of the ,office of ,chief ,counsel to any employee of the ,internal ,revenue ,service 7including any legal advice prepared in contemplation of litigation7 which the ,national ,taxpayer ,advocate determines is necessary to assist such taxpayer1 regardless of whether such legal advice cannot be disclosed to such taxpayer1 and 7,,iii7 any meeting between such taxpayer and any employee of the ,internal ,revenue ,service4 7ii7 ,to the extent necessary to perform a full and substantive analysis included in any report described in paragraph 7#b77;,b7-- 7,i7 any relevant document1 data1 or statistical information1 and 7,,ii7 any legal advice provided by the staff of the ,office of the ,chief ,counsel to any employee of the ,internal ,revenue ,service 7including any legal advice prepared in contemplation of litigation74 7iii7 ,legal advice from the staff of the ,office of ,chief ,counsel on any matter or issue4 7,b7 ,deadline ,access to any information1 advice1 or meeting described in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be provided by the ,commissioner not later than-- 7i7 the date which is #b weeks after the date on which a written request submitted by the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate has been received by the ,commissioner1 or 7ii7 such date as is otherwise agreed to by the ,commissioner and the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate4 7,c7 ,meetings ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,a77i77,,iii71 the ,commissioner shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirement under such subparagraph if the ,commissioner has extended an invitation to attend the meeting to the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate1 without regard to whether such an invitation was declined by any employee of the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate4 7,d7 ,privilege ,any access provided to the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate pursuant to this paragraph with respect to information or legal advice from the staff of the ,office of ,chief ,counsel shall have no effect on any privilege which otherwise applies to such information or legal advice4 4 7b7 ,annual reports ,section #ghjc7;c77#b77;,b77ii7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended-- 7#a7 in subclause 7,,xii71 by striking and at the end1 7#b7 in subclause 7,,xiii71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and1 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following new subclause3 7,,xiv7 identify any failure by the ,commissioner to provide access to any information1 advice1 or meeting described in subparagraph 7,a7 of paragraph 7#f7 by the date required under subparagraph 7,b7 of such paragraph4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,repeal of limitation period suspension for taxpayers seeking assistance from ,,tas 7a7 ,in general ,section #ghaa of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended-- 7#a7 by striking subsection 7d71 and 7#b7 by redesignating subsections 7e7 through 7g7 as subsections 7d7 through 7f71 respectively4 7b7 ,conforming amendment ,section #fcjf7k77#b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking section #ghaa7;g7 and inserting section #ghaa7;f74 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this ,act4 #e4 ,operations to assist taxpayers experiencing hardships during lapse in appropriations ,notwithstanding section #acda7;a7 of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 during any lapse in appropriations1 the ,commissioner and the ,office of the ,taxpayer ,advocate may incur obligations in advance of appropriations for such amounts as may be necessary-- 7#a7 to assist any taxpayer who is or may be experiencing an economic hardship 7within the meaning of section #fcdc7;a77#a77;,d7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf7 as a result of any action or inaction by the ,internal ,revenue ,service1 and 7#b7 for the purpose of complying with any ,taxpayer ,assistance ,order issued pursuant to section #ghaa of such ,code4