Tom Carper

We are committed to continue to work with the Congress.

I feel fortunate that Tom and I have been given this opportunity to lead this Committee at this point in time.

We do not think that is a smart decision.

Hopefully, we can take the invitation from Senator Landrieu, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee for Homeland Security, and try to get that number back to a better place.

I think she has great potential, but she has to get a really strong team around her.

There needs to be oversight.

I am Tom Carper and I approve this message.

It is obvious to you, it should be as Commissioners, that a lot of money is being spent under the rubric of 501(c)(4), a lot.

I do think it makes sense to take a look at it.

The captain of the ship is expected to stand up and take responsibility and say, 'This happened on my watch.'

We do not create jobs. What we do is help create a nurturing environment for job creation.

I would like to maybe put this hearing in context.

In order to do a tax reform that is going to be responsible, we need the full involvement of the Treasury Department.

CBO has now said it will be probably closer to $650 billion--only $650 billion, and that is an improvement.

We need to provide some certainty with respect to the Tax Code, and I think we need some more revenues.

The job of government with respect to job creation is, people think sometimes their Senators think that they create jobs, or Governors create jobs, or Presidents create jobs, and I always say, No, we do not create jobs.

I call the GAO High Risk List this Committee's to-do list.

One of the initiatives that Dr. Coburn and I worked on in the last Congress, something called the Medicare and Medicaid Fighting Fraud and Abuse to Save Taxpayers' Dollars Act (FAST Act)...

Not only, Federal agencies, do we want you to report improper payments, we want you to stop making them.

What I think they do is represent a way to encourage collaboration, encourage a sense of teamwork in terms of delivering health care.

Today we are pleased to consider the nomination of Brian Deese, President Obama's choice to serve as our Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

I have said it a time or two before, but it is just something here that bears repeating often.

The hearing will come to order, although this is a hearing that is already in order, even with a 5½ month old baby girl, remarkably.

I like to say that there are three things that we need to do in order to continue to rein in the deficit.

We have to figure out how to keep the deficit on the way back down.