U.S. State Attorneys General

I applaud each and every one of those 700,000-plus professionals who have stepped forward and registered, because essentially what they are saying is, 'I am willing to live by this new regime, to make sure that consumers understand that I…

Yes. And so, what we want any American taxpayer or any consumer who is watching or listening to this hearing to understand is that not every person who professes to be a preparer of tax returns with the talent and the experience to do it…

I can't tell you how many Americans have come up to me in the past and said, 'You know how much money I lost...'

I think this was long overdue, but I appreciate the way that you have handled this.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing. I appreciate that very much.

As interesting a conversation this is, it is still academic.

I am not sure how fair this so-called 'FairTax proposal' is. It is converging more on the fairy tale side of fair than real fairness.

There are no two states that have exactly the same sales tax base, and no state has a sales tax base that is anywhere near as comprehensive as the FairTax.

I thank the ranking member and the chairman, and I look forward to working with them. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment Offered by Mr. Flake

We either are going to follow and live up to our obligations and our debts, or we are not.

Where you stand on Social Security and where you fall on the ways to strengthen it will speak volumes about your priorities for our country and for the generation that built the America we so love.

Most Americans would say it is immoral and un-American for this congress to tax Peter to pay for Paul's sins.

Social Security has never contributed a dime to the nation's $14.3 trillion debt, not a penny to our federal deficit this year, or any year of our nation's history.

You have to work more, save more, and retire later.

China, Japan, and every major corporation in America knows the same thing, and they are waiting to be paid, as well.

I think you have made that very clear, Mr. Chairman.

The more we acknowledge that today Social Security is paying benefits on time and in full, and has always done that for more than 75 years, and that it will continue to do so for another good 20-some-odd years, it becomes very important.

I would like to begin, first, by acknowledging something the chairman said, that we are looking at somewhere around 2036 before Social Security will face a situation where it doesn't go broke.

I think you talked about how you have to figure out how you broaden the base in a fair way.

These earned benefits would be taken directly from beneficiaries.

I would like the President of the United States either to defend his Chief of Staff's actions or at least say that the actions of this board could have dire economic consequences for all States.

The President, who I want to see be successful, because when he fails, we all fail. But his actions are leading us down the wrong path.

Washington is dysfunctional.

My concern is the chilling effect that this action is having not just across South Carolina and Washington State, but throughout the United States and throughout the world.