February 27,2008

Montana’s Ed Eck Asked To Serve On IRS Oversight Board

Finance Chairman Baucus urged nomination of law school dean

Washington, DC – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) expressed his appreciation today that the White House has agreed to name E. Edwin Eck II, Dean of the University of Montana School of Law, to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Oversight Board. Dean 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.

“Given his expertise in tax law, his experience as a successful professor and administrator, and his understanding of tax issues facing rural and under-served areas, I can think of no better candidate for service on the Oversight Board than Dean Eck,” Baucus said. “Dean Eck will be an asset to the Board’s mission of providing long-term guidance and stability to 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 non-partisan members tasked with 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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