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Not a Drop of Sympathy Over Flooded IRS Building
Cleanup crews sweep water toward a drainage hole in one of the basement hallways that had flooded from heavy rains. It is expected to take round-the-clock crews at least a month to repair the IRS headquarters on Constitution Avenue NW.
(Linda Davidson - Linda Davidson)
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"Day-to-day operations have continued and will continue," Lemons said. "From a taxpayer's standpoint, this isn't going to impact their day-to-day interactions with the agencies."
For now, the building reeks of mold and debris.
Even with all the pumping, parts of the basement still have about two inches of water. Mud stains color the linoleum floor and climb five feet up the wall, where the white paint is peeled to expose red brick. Officials estimate the cleanup and repairs will cost tens of millions of dollars; by today the IRS will have two 50-person crews working round-the-clock to repair and restore the building.
The timing could have been better, said Joellen Tritton, who was in town from Wichita Falls, Tex.
"Too bad it didn't happen on April 15," drawled the audit-surviving Tritton, curling her fuchsia lips into a wicked smile.
The Oliver Wendell Holmes quote above the neoclassical entrance to IRS headquarters was often photographed yesterday: "TAXES ARE WHAT WE PAY FOR A CIVILIZED SOCIETY."
"How about: 'Taxes are what's gonna fix a soaked society'?" said Mindy Robinson, a tourist from North Carolina.
Her friend, Sue McKain, came up with another zinger.
"How about 'The Top Ten Reasons the IRS Flooded'?" McKain said. "They're up the creek without a paddle."
"And the second one would be because of Roe v. Wade -- get it? Like row a boat or wade in the water?" Robinson said.
"Hmmm," McKain thought about her next one. "Because they're up to their taxes in water."
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