Computer Expert is Clinton’s Pick for IRS

President Clinton has decided to name Charles Rossotti, head of a Virginia-based computer consulting firm, to head the Internal Revenue Service, administration officials said Tuesday.

“He’s been given the president’s approval,” a senior White House official said of Rossotti, who heads American Management Systems, of Fairfax. Another official said a background check was being conducted on Rossotti.

“He’ll be announced shortly after that,” said the administration official, “assuming nothing is found” to disqualify him.

No one was available at Rossotti’s firm for comment.

IRS Commissioner Margaret Richardson announced in January that she was resigning to seek other career opportunities.

Rossotti’s computer background brings a vital skill to the IRS, which depends heavily on computers to deal with its workload.

Rossotti, 56, graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University and earned an MBA from Harvard University in 1974. He worked in the Defense Department’s Office of Systems Analysis for five years until founding AMS in 1970. He serves on several boards of directors, including those at Georgetown University and the Woodstock Theological Center, a Georgetown University-based think tank that studies ethics and religion in business.

AMS is an information technology consulting company and computer systems developer. Its customers include Bell Atlantic Corp., Citibank Corp. and the IRS.