A year ago, on April 3, on a Marine base in Afghanistan, Harry Lew was the victim of hazing. He was punched and kicked by his peers as they poured the contents of a sandbag over his face and mouth. This physical torture and hazing lasted a…

Today's hearing is just a first step. I hope the committee will continue to work together on this issue in the coming months.

I strongly support the NASA Mars program and I am very concerned about the cuts to this program proposed in the President's fiscal year 2013 budget.

I just want to say again, as we are really working to protect and support job creators, that was really the intention of this amendment.

Many of these businesses already operate. They have just never done business with the government.

What we are trying to do is encourage these businesses to grow and many of them are mom-and-pop establishments as most small businesses start out.

This amendment will guarantee that SBA does not try to make the industry fit the size standard, but that an individual size standard will be created for each industry.

Helping small businesses win contracts will help put Americans back to work.

Hazing is a serious problem in the military, and though the military has policies in place, they aren't being enforced, and they aren't effective.

How do I break into federal contracting? With average annual spending at $500 billion there is no better way for small businesses to expand during these tough times than through federal contracts.

I have a perfecting amendment to H.R. 3985.

I have been trying to get a hearing on this issue for many months, and I am grateful that you are focusing on this critical matter.

Mr. Becerra has one follow up question.

I sat down with my tax preparer and went over my taxes in preparation to file.

I cannot imagine the stress they are under given that you have thousands of Americans waiting to connect with them on the phone.

My understanding is, and correct me if I am wrong, that we now estimate that some $385 billion annually is not paid in taxes that are either avoided or intentionally not paid in this country.

We do not want to undermine the voluntary compliance rates that we have in this country by Americans who pay their taxes.

It is hard to believe you need a license to cut someone's hair, but in America, you do not need a license to prepare someone's perhaps most important financial documents.