Chris Van Hollen: “I listened to my friend and the former chairman and his remarks. The reality is that the President's proposal and the…”

“I listened to my friend and the former chairman and his remarks. The reality is that the President's proposal and the Democratic proposal, we don't increase tax rates; but, yes, we do get rid of some of the tax loopholes in the Tax Code that are riddled with preferences that are there not because they make America more productive, but because someone had a powerful lobbyist who was getting a special interest break for them. If you think about it, if the government provides a grant of $1,000 to somebody, that is $1,000 in value; but if I say to you, Of the taxes you have to pay, I am going to give you a special break so it is $1,000 less, that is a pretty good deal, too. The reality is we spend $1.4 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, each year on tax expenditures, more than on Social Security. Now, some of those are for good purposes, good public policy purposes, but some of them are for like corporate jets, and some of them are for hedge fund managers. Here is the thing. We think that we can get rid of some of those tax breaks to help reduce the long-term deficit. Our colleagues would just prefer to devastate our investments in education and other areas, Math is math, to the former chairman.…”