House panel to vote on censuring IRS commissioner and Duke alum John Koskinen

<p>A resolution was passed Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to censure John Koskinen, Trinity '61 and commissioner of the IRS&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

A resolution was passed Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to censure John Koskinen, Trinity '61 and commissioner of the IRS .  

The House Oversight Committee will vote Wednesday on a resolution censuring John Koskinen, Trinity '61 and commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.

If the resolution passes, Koskinen will have to forfeit his government pension. The measure is in response to complaints about the way he handled investigations of the 2013 IRS nonprofit targeting scandal, in which the IRS admitted to improperly targeting conservative political groups applying for tax-exempt status based on their names.

Republicans have accused Koskinen of failing to preserve evidence connected to former IRS official Lois Lerner and then waiting four months to tell Congress that some evidence had been erased. 

However, Koskinen has denied that he mislead Congress.

Koskinen has served as commissioner since December 2013 when President Barack Obama nominated him and the Senate confirmed him on a 59-36 vote. He replaced Steven Miller, who stepped down in May 2013 after it was revealed that the IRS was giving additional scrutiny to nonprofits looking for tax exemption based on the groups’ political affiliation.

Koskinen has also been a major University benefactor. In 1999, he and his wife Patricia established a $2.5 million trust to enhance recreational and athletic facilities and support female student athletes. 

$1 million of the trust was directed toward the construction and maintenance of Duke’s West Campus recreational facilities.  The rest went toward the establishment of the John and Patricia Koskinen Scholarship Endowment—a fund to support female student-athletes.

Duke's soccer and lacrosse stadium was named the John and Patricia Koskinen Stadium in their honor. 

Koskinen also served as president of the Alumni Association and as a former chair of the Board of. In 1997, he was awarded the Association of Governing Boards’ Distinguished Service Award in Trusteeship.

He was also the former deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget under former President Bill Clinton and chaired Clinton’s Council on Y2K, 2000 Conversion.

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