You give them the whole bill, and I think they will go for it.

Put simply, it is past time for Congress to stand up once again to fix our broken tax system.

The income tax base, which has become riddled with exclusions, exemptions, deductions, and credits, should be as broad as possible.

Tax reform, if it is done correctly, should promote growth and significantly reduce economic distortions that are present under the current income tax system.

You both showed a willingness to work across party line on some occasions when it did not please your parties too much.

Before we engage meaningfully in tax reform, we need a clear vision of what we want success to look like.

I am open; send me a good bill.

Should we indeed go back to that? That is, if the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was so great, should Congress just have an up or down vote on that?

A successfully reformed tax system will help make America the best place in the world to work, conduct business, invest, and prosper.

Today's hearing is about the need for tax reform and what lessons we can learn from the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

I am not going to sugarcoat anything with this budget. Instead, I am going to cut right to the chase.

The American people deserve an answer to this question, and I hope you will be willing to give us one today.

Ultimately, the solution to overcome sectarian divisions must come from the leaders and communities within the region. No amount of U.S. investment alone will be sufficient.

Good morning.

The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch, Ranking Member

The committee will come to order.

I didn't think that we ought to be putting this burden disproportionately on the Department of Defense as we were.

I think the ability to believe according to one's own belief system and to express those views appropriately is of utmost importance to the morale of all of our service men and women and to their families.