WASHINGTON -- The following is the statement of Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE):

"The hearings which will take place in the Finance Committee this week will explore some very serious problems at the Internal Revenue Service. These hearings are not about partisan politics; they are about good government.

"Our hearings will cover a number of issues.

"Over the next four days, our hearings will focus on different treatment between high-level executives and other employees within the service -- how they are treated differently even when they have committed the same offense. Such inequities, for the benefit of executive level employees, send a terrible message to the average workers, and it destroys morale throughout the agency.

"We will focus on a number of serious issues which weigh heavily on the integrity of the IRS. We will hear how investigative techniques to deal with violent and dangerous criminals are used against taxpayers who are neither violent nor dangerous. We will hear from taxpayers who have experienced armed raids of their homes and businesses. Raids that were conducted on the flimsiest of evidence, which later proved to be unwarranted and the taxpayers exonerated of any wrongdoing. On this issue, I am pleased that our investigation has already prompted action from the IRS toward improving the Criminal Investigations Division.

"We will examine the sensitive issue of racism and discrimination, an issue that has come up from the moment we first started our oversight.

"We will hear that the IRS internal oversight is so bad that the agency is unable to track what its employees are doing.

"We will also examine major compliance allegations.

"These are serious issues, not partisan politics. When we find evidence of this kind of wrongdoing, it is our obligation to bring it to light. That is our intention, beginning Tuesday."

A partial witness list for Tuesday's hearing as well as summaries of some of the Tuesday witness's testimony will be available on the Finance Committee WEB site at 7 pm Monday night.