THE PROCEDURE IN ACTION: TWO PROBLEMATIC TRENDS
IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT .......................................................... 1100
A. Watershed Moments in the Procedure’s Recent History ................ 1101
1. 1992 Changes .................................................................. 1101
2. 1995 Introduction of Nationalized Standards ............... 1103
3. 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act ....................... 1103
4. 2001 Introduction of Centralized Processing ............... 1106
5. 2003 Introduction of User Fee Requirements .............. 1107
6. 2005–2006 Legislative Changes...................................... 1107
B. Two Problematic Trends in Historical Context ........................... 1109
1. 1997–2001: Increased Inventory Backlog and
Longer Processing Times ............................................... 1109
2. 2000–2009: Decline in the Number of Received and
Accepted Offers and Increase in “Repeat Offers” ......... 1112
III. EXPLAINING WEAKNESS: A STAKEHOLDER DYNAMICS
FRAMEWORK............................................................................. 1117
A. Four Stakeholders with Divergent Interests .................................. 1117
1. Congress and Other Legislative Actors ......................... 1117
2. The IRS ........................................................................... 1119
3. The Taxpayer .................................................................. 1120
4. Other Stakeholders ........................................................ 1122