Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives today unanimously passed H.R. 4462, legislation that would allow individuals who make charitable contributions to victims of the earthquake in Haiti to claim an itemized charitable deduction on their 2009 tax return instead of having to wait until next year to claim these deductions on their 2010 tax return.  The legislation also includes a… Read more

The “Misery Index” of the 1970s is back, but in a new and startling form.  Today, the nation’s skyrocketing debt, coupled with rapidly growing and now double-digit unemployment, has created a new “Obama Misery Index,” detailed by Ways and Means Republicans each month since June 2009.  Now Moody’s has created its own “Misery Index.”  Like the Ways and Means Republican version, the Moody’s… Read more

Madame Speaker, The bill before us is a candid admission by the Majority that their tax, borrow and spend ways have driven America deeper and deeper into debt.  In fact, because of the failed trillion-dollar stimulus spending bill, America’s unemployment is higher than predicted and revenues are lower.  But that hasn’t stopped the majority from continuing to spend, spend,… Read more

(Remarks as Prepared) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Earlier this year this Subcommittee met to examine issues surrounding banking secrecy and illegal tax evasion.  At that hearing, we all agreed that criminal tax evasion should be Aggressively pursued and punished.  I also said that I hoped our efforts in this area would remain focused on compliance; that the line between illegal tax… Read more

The table below compares the White House's February 2009 projection of the number of jobs that would be created by the 2009 stimulus law (through the end of 2010) with the actual change in state payroll employment through August 2009 (the latest state-by-state figures currently available).  As this table shows, the only place in America solidly on track to meet the Administration’s job… Read more

Background:  “In his new book, Positively American: Winning Back the American Middle Class One Family at a Time, Senator Charles Schumer reveals the imaginary constituents that have long informed his political career: Joe and Eileen Bailey. The Baileys live in a suburb of Long Island with their three kids, they both work, and they earn about $75,000 annually….Schumer says that the… Read more

WASHINGTON, DC – Following the jobs report this morning, Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) released the following statement: “Jobs have not been saved—they have been lost.  And, thousands more will be out of work this summer as GM and Chrysler lay off workers, shutter plants and eliminate dealerships – the ripple effect of which will be felt throughout U.S. manufacturing… Read more

(Remarks as Prepared) Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this hearing.  One of the principal ways that State and local governments finance their activities is through the issuance of bonds to the public.  It is generally agreed that the liquidity crisis and accompanying economic… Read more

(REMARKS AS PREPARED) Thank you, Chairman Neal.  I share many of the concerns you outlined in your statement and look forward to working together on responsible, common-sense steps that will make our efforts to crack-down on individuals who commit tax fraud more effective.  Thank you also to our witnesses.  I appreciate your willingness to join us today and… Read more

Many families forced to pay more than $1,300 in higher energy costs      FACT:             Peter Orszag , former CBO Director and current OMB Director, has verified that energy taxes designed to decrease carbon emission, like those in the President’s budget, will be passed on to American… Read more