U.S. State Attorneys General

The individual and groups who received the most benefits should be willing and ready to ante up.

The creation of this Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is the direct result of legislative policies and economic recessions.

Decisions were made to extinguish a $5.6 trillion surplus.

But I think what we are trying to do is finally stop this pervasive underground--I call it a black market operation that is out there.

It would save the taxpayer money, it would save the government money, if the Part I were used.

I think that is a good idea, again, to give consumers a chance to understand.

But the guy that goes after that 101st person and causes them to be audited unfairly, we should descend on them with a hammer so hard, that they become the example for the rest of the industry.

It would be helpful, I think, for consumers to understand what the difference is.

I have many ghost operations in my district, people that are literally going out and grabbing people off the sidewalk and say, 'Hey, do you know I can get you this much money? Sign here.'

I hope we also do some work, as was based on the questions that were asked earlier by the chairman and the ranking member, on educating the consumers so that they understand what is going on here.

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.