Dave Camp

WASHINGTON, May 22- Major U.S. trade legislation appears increasingly likely to clear Congress this year despite an intensely partisan atmosphere made worse by scandals plaguing President Barack Obama's administration.

Below are some of the major players in the backlash over the IRS paying extra attention to advocacy groups whose names included terms such as "patriot" or " Tea Party" when considering applications for tax-exempt status.

*Congress opens three probes of tax agency. Republicans and Democrats said senior IRS officials should have alerted Congress last year when they found out that their examiners were singling out Tea Party groups for intense scrutiny when the groups applied for tax-exempt status.

WASHINGTON, May 17- A leading U.S. congressman said on Friday that an Internal Revenue Service scandal had exposed deep problems with the federal tax system, saying it needed to be overhauled.

WASHINGTON, May 17- A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Friday opens the first in a series of investigative hearings in Congress on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny, as the political storm over the scandal shifts to Capitol Hill.

May 15- The ranks of lobbyists are growing in Washington again as Congress flirts with a possible overhaul of the complex U.S. tax code.

WASHINGTON, May 10- An investigation of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service was launched on Friday after a senior IRS official publicly apologized for subjecting conservative political groups to "inappropriate" scrutiny. "We would like to apologize for that," said Lois Lerner, director of the IRS tax-exempt office at an American Bar Association conference.

WASHINGTON, May 10- Two U.S. policymakers from opposite ends of the political spectrum on Friday said momentum is building for a top-to-bottom revamp of the tax code, but the biggest question is whether there is political will to get it done.

*Senate panel eyes international tax options in meeting. WASHINGTON, May 9- The political goal is the same as it was in the mid-1980s: grassroots support for an overhaul of the U.S. tax code. Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat, and Representative Dave Camp, a Republican, asks Americans to share their stories and ideas about tax reform.

WASHINGTON, May 9- Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday, over the threat of a White House veto, that would allow the government to borrow money to pay bondholders and retirees if Congress fails to reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

*White House has said it will veto bill. WASHINGTON, May 9- U.S. House Republicans are expected to pass a bill on Thursday that would require the Obama administration to prioritize government debt payments and retirement benefits if Congress fails to reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON, May 9- The political goal is the same as it was in the mid-1980s- seed grass-roots support for an overhaul of the U.S. tax code- but the approach launched Thursday relies on email, not snail mail.

*White House has said it will veto bill. WASHINGTON, May 9- Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would require the Obama administration to prioritize government debt payments and retirement benefits if Congress fails to reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON, May 8- Just when you may have thought that federal tax policy was set- that January's "fiscal cliff" deal meant you could go about your financial life with multi-year certainty- Washington is again talking of comprehensive tax reform.

WASHINGTON, May 6- "Tax the other guy, not me!" Republican Dave Camp, chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means panel in the U.S. House of Representatives, commissioned the report. One supporter of the Cayman Islands, home to many offshore business ventures, commented on page 523: "Do not associate the Cayman Islands with tax evasion."

*Senate approval of measure expected on Monday. WASHINGTON, May 6- The U.S. Senate was expected to vote on Monday to give states the power to enforce their sales tax laws on online purchases, but the legislation was likely to stall in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The Senate uncharacteristically by-passed this step.

*Senate approval of measure expected on Monday. WASHINGTON, May 6- The U.S. Senate was expected to vote on Monday to give states the power to enforce their sales tax laws on online purchases, but the legislation was likely to stall in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The Senate uncharacteristically by-passed this step.

Max Baucus, the Senate's top tax writer, pledged last month to spend much of the time remaining before his 2014 retirement stepping up his bid to revamp the tax code. Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, chairs the Senate Finance Committee. Dave Camp, the U.S. House of Representatives' top tax writer, has been sounding as committed as Baucus.

Max Baucus, the Senate's top tax writer, pledged last month to spend much of the time remaining before his 2014 retirement stepping up his bid to revamp the tax code. Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, chairs the Senate Finance Committee. Dave Camp, the U.S. House of Representatives' top tax writer, has been sounding as committed as Baucus.