There is a growing bipartisan consensus on contentious issues like entitlement spending and tax reform.

This budget takes the latter approach. It represents a very clear threat to the health and retirement security for American seniors.

I would like to thank Representative Sue Myrick and Mike Ross, esteemed members of this subcommittee, for their sponsorship of this Act.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Despite the groans and droopy eyelids, some of us were up pretty late last night negotiating on the final spectrum fees and the big fees.

Thank you for being here.

Given the state of our Nation's finances, I think it is time to call all hands on deck.

Thank you for your testimony. I appreciate your testimony and the work you that you are doing to try and continue to improve and reduce fraud and deal with all that.

We have an obligation as a subcommittee to review the budgets and spending activities of every agency under our jurisdiction.

Fundamentally we have got to figure out a way to come together to resolve these issues.

Mr. Chairman, if I could just take 5 seconds, as part of it, I think we should remember that some the adjustments he made was to tax capital gains and dividends at the 28 percent level, the same rate that the bugs driver was paying there…

What you see here is after the 1993 budget agreement when the top marginal rate was raised to 39.6 percent, you saw over 20 million jobs created during that period after the 2001-2003 tax cuts, so-called Bush tax cuts, where they reduced…

That is not what the Ryan budget proposes, I would point out, although there are some people who have suggested that we need to cut faster now.

Again, welcome, Mr. Secretary. Having participated in some of those rounds, my sense was they basically collapsed because of the fundamental issue that we are debating right here in this committee, which is whether or not to take a…

I would suggest that if we could have a partner in coming to that balanced approach that we talked about, we would be able to tackle some of these things.

This budget represents a plan. It represents a responsible plan, a good plan.

Doesn't this just get, this ruling, get to the very heart, the very foundation of what America is about?

It is important that we hear from the private sector to assess whether President Obama's executive order is working to ease the day-to-day regulatory burdens on American companies.