June 16,2008

Finance Panel Set to Confirm Ed Eck to IRS Oversight

Finance Chairman Baucus urged nomination of law school dean

Washington, DC – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said that the
panel will consider and is expected to confirm this week the nomination of E. Edwin Eck II, Dean
of the University of Montana School of Law, to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Oversight
Board. The Committee will vote on the nomination during an open executive session this
Wednesday. Eck was raised in Lewistown, Mont., graduated from Carleton College, then went
on to obtain a law degree from the University of Montana and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University. He began teaching at UM in 1981 and was appointed Dean in 1995.
Baucus, who helped create the IRS Oversight Board in 1998, encouraged the Montana law and
tax expert’s nomination to the panel.

“It was my pleasure to have Dean Eck before the Senate Finance Committee in April and
to hear the tenacity and passion with which he will tackle this important position,” Baucus said. "Dean Eck has a tremendous amount of experience with the tax issues that are important to people in Montana and across America. I look forward to voting to put this skilled tax lawyer, successful educator, and talented administrator on the oversight board at the IRS.

Dean Eck has established himself as an expert in estate and charitable tax law and has worked to create a joint JD/MBA program and new certifications in environmental law and dispute resolution at UM. In addition, he established an initiative that allows law faculty to present
programs around the state, reaching out to Montana’s most rural areas.

The IRS Oversight Board consists of nine members chosen without regard to party and assigned
the task of supervising the IRS’s execution and application of the internal revenue laws. The
Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue serve on the Board, and the remaining seven members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Each Presidential appointee serves a five-year term. The nominations are considered by the Senate Finance Committee.

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