James Couzens, Andrew Mellon, the 'Greatest Tax Suit in the History of the World,' and Creation of the Joint Committee on Taxation and Its Staff
In early 1924, James Couzens was a Republican Senator from Michigan and reportedly the richest member of Congress. Andrew Mellon was beginning his fourth year as Secretary of the Treasury — a service that would eventually span 11 years under three Republican Administrations — and one of the wealthiest persons in the entire country. This article describes how a feud between these two men, an ensuing investigation led by Couzens of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) (predecessor to the modern-day IRS), and a tax case against Couzens that was described as the “greatest tax suit in the history of the world,” helped lead to creation of the U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) and its staff. The events — filled with political intrigue, backstabbing (real or imagined), and unintended consequences — antagonized Congress’s relationship with the executive branch, but improved cooperation between the House and Senate, and both were instrumental in the JCT’s creation. The story also helps to explain certain of the unique characteristics of the JCT and its staff since their formation. Finally, the article describes how creation of the JCT became entangled with two of the most contentious tax issues of the day — the publicity of tax return information and the depletion allowance for oil and gas production — and played a role in changing the law in both areas. Although the feud and its aftermath were direct factors in the JCT’s creation, the development of the modern income tax during roughly its first decade was an essential ingredient. The decisions made by Congress, the Treasury, and the BIR during that period, and their later understanding (or misunderstanding) of the law and its effects, set the stage for the feud and subsequent events. Thus, in addition to detailing the largely untold story of the origins of an important Congressional committee and its staff, this article explains and analyzes key, early portions of our nation’s 100-year-old law as well as the sometimes flawed decision-making process — involving an intriguing mix of policy, politics, and personality — that helped produce this new institution of government.
The Operation of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
In this article I will attempt to review the operation of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 in terms of its own objectives. Criticisms of the limitations and shortcomings of the Act have been discussed elsewhere. In describing the reformed system and the way it works, it is no part of my intention to impute praise or blame to any of the actors in the drama. As a member of the staff of the Library of Congress, I view the legislative scene with as much nonaxiological detachment as an anthropologist would describe the customs and mores of primitive tribes on some tropical island. Whether or not the system is an authentic expression of democratic government, I am not at liberty to say. As conceived and formulated by its authors and as enacted by Congress, with some significant omissions, the Act (as I shall henceforth refer to the Legislative Reorganization Act, for the sake of brevity) had the following objectives: 1. To streamline and simplify congressional committee structure. 2. To eliminate the use of special or select committees. 3. To clarify committee duties and reduce jurisdictional disputes.
Human exposure to methylmercury from crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in China
Methylmercury (MeHg) accumulation in aquatic food raises global concerns about human exposure to MeHg. Crayfish is the world’s third largest farmed crustacean species and a favorite aquatic food in many countries. However, human health hazard due to MeHg exposure via crayfish consumption is unclear, partly because appropriate survey data are lacking. We report on mercury concentrations and speciation in edible tail muscle of crayfish collected from restaurants in 23 Chinese cities. On average, MeHg constituted 99.1 % of mercury in tail muscle, and MeHg concentrations were comparable with those reported for fish in China. Variation in MeHg concentrations was not attributable to broad geographic region (i.e., provinces) or tail length. For different populations, potential health risk (characterized by hazard quotient or HQ) of MeHg exposure through crayfish consumption depended largely on crayfish consumption rates. In particular, a health hazard (HQ > 1) was found for high-rate consumers (i.e., 95 %ile or higher) in some cities in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (MLYR), during the peak consumption season. Our results suggest that more attention should be paid to dietary MeHg intake via crayfish consumption in China, particularly for communities with high consumption in MLYR.