José E. Serrano

I just told the world that GSA was looking at the possibility of building a courthouse in Puerto Rico.

I know a couple of years ago, to my shock, they were willing to accept DEA agents on their turf...

When these individuals have good ideas and firm foundations for their new businesses, they deserve help to succeed.

I hope that this commitment can be maintained and extended to other programming.

So what you are basically saying is that the information that the agency has, which Members of Congress may not have, is that PRIME, while it serves a purpose is a duplication in many cases and that is the reason why year after year people…

only catching about 20 percent of the drugs being trafficked into the United States, and it is an issue there of resources.

But that is the one that always keeps getting cut. So there must be something more than a budget issue every year.

Well, it would help us as a Committee, and I know that the Chairman would agree with this, that when we begin to dissect what this budget will look like, and this bill will look like, we need to know the success stories, and again this is…

People are getting ripped off all over this country. And it makes their work harder.

We can talk about conference waste all we want to. But when you cut almost $1 billion in funding, then people should not be surprised when the IRS cannot do all that we ask of them.

But I am not sure we want the tax laws with no one able to answer questions when our constituents have them and with no one around to ensure justice for those who attempt to evade the law.

You have situations, for instance, in my district, an area that for years the biggest complaint was that there were no banks around and through this kind of funding that this Committee put forth you know local banks were able to spring up.

This is a very serious issue and I think one that maybe the Committee should take a closer look at.

It has to do with the Constitution and what this country is known for.

116 years is a long time. It's good for Puerto Rico, but it's also good for our democracy to be able to resolve this issue once and for all.

Americans have a right to privacy and that it should be something that we protect.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would like to join you in welcoming Secretary Lew before the Subcommittee for the second time.

Last year, I suggested that the IRS needed to revisit these rules to provide greater clarity to organizations and to their own auditors as to what is considered a political activity for purposes of making a 501(c)(4) designation.

The FY 2014 Omnibus required Treasury to submit recommendations for reducing the response time for applications to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

I know that we want less and less government, but this is one where I think both parties could agree that it is abuse.

Because now, even if you fix that and get to the bottom of the truth, the fact is that there is a political issue in this country that is running amok about only certain groups or one certain group being targeted.

It needs discipline to rein in spending. It needs courage to make tough decisions.

I don't know how else to call them--fly-by-night storefront operations that seem to continue to creep up in many communities throughout this country and hurt the taxpayer.

This tax-advantaged status is not a right but, rather, a responsibility, and too many organizations have been claiming it as a way to avoid transparency and taxes.

I don't necessarily believe that a higher level of spending equals a higher level of service.