Thank you, Chairman Camp. As someone who strongly opposed the 3% withholding tax ever since it was signed into law five years ago, I’m delighted that we are taking action to repeal it once and for all. I especially want to thank Mr. Blumenauer for his leadership on this issue, as well as our 26 other bipartisan cosponsors who serve on this Committee. Today we have the opportunity to… Read more

Thank you Mr. Chairman.  I’d like to start out by saying my bill, H.R. 2576, is about fairness.  This summer, when the Associated Press first reported that President Obama’s health care law would allow middle class Americans to become eligible for Medicaid, I was shocked.   The Affordable Care Act’s new income formula that determines eligibility for government… Read more

Today’s hearing is on the President’s proposals to help the long-term unemployed get back to work, which are part of his latest jobs plan.   There is certainly bipartisan agreement on that goal. But we need to do a better job helping all the unemployed return to work, because today’s short-term unemployed workers risk becoming tomorrow’s long-term unemployed.   For… Read more

Thank you and welcome to the long-awaited markup of the three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea today. For the past five years, we have been working towards this day.  These agreements enjoy broad bipartisan, bicameral support, and are the product of a lot of hard work from all sides.  I would also like to extend my appreciation to the… Read more

Next month, we will mark five years since the United States and Colombia signed a trade agreement.  Yet that agreement and our agreements with Panama and South Korea still are not in force, at great cost to U.S. workers and job-creating exporters.  Although we were forced to wait for far too long, I am very pleased that President Obama submitted these agreements to Congress on… Read more

Our nation’s most vulnerable citizens are at the center of a perfect storm.  Record deficits, a still struggling economy, and an unsustainable future spending path driven by the aging of Americans all threaten the essential programs those with disabilities count on.  We have been warned by the Social Security Trustees that the Disability Insurance program will soon be unable to… Read more

As my colleagues have discussed, today’s hearing examines the effectiveness of work incentives administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) designed to help people with disabilities go to work.    Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Becerra focused on the effects especially on individuals who receive disability checks from the Social Security Disability Insurance… Read more

Good morning and thank you for joining us for another in the series of hearings on comprehensive tax reform.  Today we will begin an examination of energy tax policy and tax reform. I’m glad this hearing will be a joint effort between the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee and the Oversight Subcommittee.  Both subcommittees play an important role in reviewing energy tax… Read more

Thank you, Chairman Tiberi. I'd also like to welcome everyone to this morning's hearing on energy tax policy and administration. There is no doubt our country lacks a comprehensive energy strategy to achieve energy security and create good-paying American jobs. Louisianans know natural gas will be an important part of our transition to new fuel sources for the 21st century. In addition… Read more

Good morning and thank you for joining us for the latest in our continued series of hearings on comprehensive tax reform.  Over the last several months, as we’ve discussed the various facets and complexities associated with comprehensive tax reform, a wide array of economists and business leaders have testified before this Committee that comprehensive tax reform that lowers rates by… Read more