The Share of Adults Who Are Working Is Back to 1984 Levels.  The share of adults who are working dropped to levels last seen in 1984 and has yet to recover. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. ________________ As introduced on June 17, 2014, Ways and Means Chairman Camp is… Read more

Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) announced the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) targeting of conservative individuals includes a sitting United States Senator.  According to emails reviewed by the Committee under its Section 6103 authority, which allows the Committee to review confidential taxpayer information, Lois Lerner sought to have… Read more

January 21, 2010 Citizen’s United Ruling: Supreme Court issues ruling in Citizens United case, which would lead to an active campaign by Democrats against conservative groups – a campaign Lerner was well aware of and reacted to.   January 27, 2010  President Obama Goes on the Attack:  In his State of the Union address, President Obama states: “With all due deference… Read more

Record Number of Americans Are Not Working.  A record number of people are unemployed or have left the workforce.     Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. ________________ As introduced on June 17, 2014, Ways and Means Chairman Camp is listing 40 reasons for the… Read more

Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following reaction to news that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would not pursue the illegal leak of National Organization of Marriage’s (NOM) tax information. “Through our investigation, we were able to discover that the IRS gave NOM’s confidential information to an individual who then intentionally leaked the… Read more

Worst "Recovery" Ever for Dropouts from the Workforce. In no prior recession have this many people remained out of the workforce this far into an economic recovery. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.  ________________ As introduced on June 17, 2014, Ways and Means… Read more

Good morning.  Over three years ago, this Committee started asking the IRS: was it targeting conservatives for their beliefs; was it asking groups inappropriate questions; and, was it harassing conservative donors.   The IRS assured this Committee, and even testified before Congress, time and time again, that no targeting was occurring.… Read more

Then: Hard Drives Unrecoverable When asked earlier this week if there were any data or hardware crashes similar to Lois Lerner’s with other IRS employees pertinent to the investigation, IRS Deputy CIO informed the Committee that there were, and listed six other IRS employees, including Nikole Flax, former Chief of Staff to the Acting IRS Commissioner, whose hard drives had crashed and… Read more

Worst “Recovery” Ever for Long-Term Unemployed.  In no other recession were there this many long-term unemployed. Source: Calculated Risk Blog. ________________ As introduced on June 17, 2014, Ways and Means Chairman Camp is listing 40 reasons for the Senate to pass the 40 jobs bills the House has already… Read more

I would like to welcome back the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee.  Neither MedPAC nor its witness here today, Executive Director, Mark Miller, is a stranger to the Committee.  MedPAC is a key, non-partisan advisor with a lot of analytical firepower.  There is bi-partisan interest in its work.     MedPAC issues two reports annually to the Congress.  Its… Read more