Tom Carper

Where there is fraud, we are going to find it and we are going to fight it.

We want to be your partner.

Thanks to you, and I want to thank Senator Hatch and your staffs for working with Dr. Coburn and me on something called improper payments, $106 billion in improper payments last year.

You and I have talked in the past about nuclear, and we both agree that nuclear has to be part of the mix so we can meet our climate goals.

Coal is what, I think you said 37 percent of our generating capacity today from electricity, it is going to drop to 31 percent. That is still a lot. I would just say to my colleagues, there is a huge economic opportunity here.

Think about that. What percentage of the electricity that has essentially zero emission is generated by nuclear? It is not zero. It has to be close to I would say 50 percent.

Opponents to this rule are going to say that we have to choose between having a cleaner environment and a stronger economy. I have said a million times, that is a false choice. We can have both.

I believe that EPA is trying to strike the right balance. God knows it isn't easy.

I hope it doesn't take the loss of Smith Island in Maryland or the washing away of the Everglades... before we act on this critical issue.

We should have provided the framework for the way that we deal with climate change. We tried, but we were stopped.

You have the authority, you have the responsibility, you are acting.

Tell us what the rules are going to be. Give us a reasonable amount of flexibility, reasonable amount of time and get out of the way.

EPA has the authority and the responsibility to act.

We know that inaction on climate change only costs us money in the long run. Inaction can be devastating to our economy.

I love bipartisan cooperation, and I love it when two of the most thoughtful Members of our Committee collaborate.

Option baskets are being misused and abused to dodge taxes and to circumvent leverage limits.

Congress could go further and adopt the proposal of my colleague from Michigan, Congressman Camp, and tax all derivatives at the end of the year on their market value.

The structures that we have examined today have real consequences because they offload billions of dollars in taxes.

Treasury, and the IRS should remove impediments to audits of large partnerships, like hedge funds, 99 percent of which today escape IRS audits.

I want to thank Senator McCain and his staff for their hard work in making today's hearing and our bipartisan report possible.

Federal financial regulators should make clear to banks that participating in abusive structures designed to avoid leverage limits and taxes is unacceptable and penalize the banks that do.

Congress and financial regulators can and should work together to stop these abuses.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council, working with other agencies, should establish reporting and data collection requirements to detect and to stop abuse of structured financial products to circumvent leverage limits that safeguard…

The IRS should seek to collect taxes owed on billions of dollars in basket option profits unjustifiably claimed as long-term capital gains.

Senator Isakson and I have talked about and introduced legislation focused on advanced illness and that component of life's journey.