Good morning, and thank you for joining us this morning.  According to the Congressional Research Service, the last time both the House Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committees met together for a joint hearing on tax issues was 1940 – more than 70 years ago – to discuss a war profits tax.   And while I have said that I have been looking forward to our two committees… Read more

Since non-farm payroll employment (the most common measure of jobs) bottomed out in February 2010 at 129.2 million, the U.S. job market has gained a total of 1.8 million jobs, or an average of about 111,000 jobs in each of the past 16 months.  Although 111,000 jobs per month may seem like a lot, a recent AP article notes that the "economy typically needs to add 125,000 jobs per month… Read more

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) made the following statement in response to the announcement that Moody’s Investors Services “has placed the Aaa bond rating of the government of the United States on review for possible downgrade given the rising possibility that the statutory debt limit will not be raised on a timely basis, leading to a default on U.S. Treasury… Read more

When children die from maltreatment, it sometimes makes international headlines, as in the Caylee Anthony case that drew the focus of millions around the world in recent months. Sometimes the death of a child from maltreatment gains attention due to the shocking details of their treatment while alive.  That is what has happened in the case of 13-year-old Christian Choate, an… Read more

Yesterday, the Washington Post confirmed what many Americans already suspected: Democrats are more focused on electoral politics than working to develop solutions to America’s unsustainable deficit spending.  Here are the facts: Fact:  Unless Congress acts, America will hit its debt limit and possibly default in as little as three weeks. Fact:  Health care spending… Read more

 Despite then Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s claims that the Democrats’ health care law would create “4 million jobs, 400,000 almost immediately,” a study by the Coalition for Affordable Health Care Coverage (CAHC) tells a strikingly different story.  The report, which examines the relationship between health care costs and overall employee compensation, portrays a dark future of high… Read more

While President Obama talks about reining in the deficit, government debt has grown by $3.4 trillion during the first 29 months of his Administration – the equivalent of about $4 billion per day.  In addition to forcing a showdown on the debt limit, this massive debt is weighing heavily on job creation, contributing to an unemployment rate above 9 percent for yet another month. … Read more

After the very strong ADP employment report on Thursday, many economists marked-up their forecasts for Friday’s official payroll report. We moved ours up 5,000, and went into the report at 140,000 net new private sector jobs. Ouch…the official report showed just 57,000 new private sector jobs and equities immediately headed south. For bulls, this data was a huge disappointment. But… Read more

I am pleased to be co-chairing this hearing with my colleague Chairman Howard Coble and his Subcommittee colleagues and thank them for hosting this important hearing.   The Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability programs are the largest of Federal programs that provide assistance to people with disabilities. Both are administered by the Social Security… Read more

“Today’s disappointing jobs number proves yet again that our economy is too weak, too fragile and too shaky.  Washington’s failed stimulus has produced more spending, more debt and more taxes, but not more paychecks.  In order to get Americans back to work producing the economic growth this country needs, we need to let the private sector do what it… Read more