I want to make the statement that, yes, we have a tax gap.

this Committee has an obligation to examine all of the causes of the tax gap.

I am happy that this hearing--this is a very sensitive program, and we think when it is effective it really has pulled so many people out of poverty and given them the incentive to continue to work, rather than go on welfare.

At a time of record level Federal deficits, the last thing the government can afford is to be hemorrhaging tens of billions of dollars in improper payments.

If we have a higher corporate tax rate, lowering corporate tax rates would obviously reduce some of that pressure on transfer pricing.

I have said many times on this floor and in meetings with constituents, this country does not have an energy strategy, and the only thing worse than not having an energy strategy is having bad energy policy. Yet the answer lies right here…

Whether the underfunding of State and local pension plans is $700 billion or over $3 trillion, it is a serious concern for workers and retirees, for State and local governments, and for taxpayers in general.

There is no sense in doing it.

Too often, governments have deferred difficult choices by pushing obligations off into the future without responsibly saving for the day when those obligations are due.

I would remind the gentleman that it is a little unseemly to impugn motives of Members of the Committee.

If we want to have a serious conversation about the fiscal hole we are facing at the State and Federal and local level, let us talk about the real cause of what is driving these budget deficits, which is rising health care costs.

Thank you, Mr. Kurtter.

But too often, State and local governments have not kept their end of the bargain and are failing to adequately fund employee pensions.

They are not proposing anything to deal with rising health care costs. And that is just going to shift the burden more and more on working-class families throughout the Nation.

Given that some have raised the specter of a Federal taxpayer bailout to cover the unfunded liabilities of these State and local plans, it is important for the Subcommittee to review this issue...

The Subcommittee needs to understand how public plans are currently calculating their assets and liabilities...

That is what is driving the fiscal crisis at the State and at the local level.

In the letter, he adamantly opposes H.R. 567.

It is clear that there is not enough money set aside to meet future obligations.

I want to make clear a previous comment I made about Mr. Levin's approval of the IRS detailee that I spoke of earlier in our discussion.

So does the 4.95 percent go to the grantor trust, does it go to AARP, Inc.?

I think there are legitimate questions that call into question whether there is a violation of for-profit or nonprofit status.

We are here to make national policy. We are certainly not here--none of us are saying this, I hope--to make AARP policy.

There is good reason to question whether AARP is primarily looking out for seniors or just its own bottom line.

AARP has forgotten where they come from, because once you get into the business of making money with the devil, you forget your mission.