Rob Portman

Fentanyl is now the number one killer in my home State, and I believe among the opioids, the number one killer in the country.

I think there are things we could do to ensure that, going forward, that we do not misuse 232.

I believe that there ought to be a tightening of the criteria, so we understand what national security is.

I believe that the entity that is best capable of determining what is in our national security interest is the Department of Defense.

I think there is certainty here of the kind we are looking for.

We all consider ourselves fiscal conservatives, I assume, but this is the right thing to do.

This would be the most significant piece of legislation in support of the national parks in more than half a century.

There is an old bromide in the Senate which is so true--that you start getting things done when you don't mind who gets the credit.

We have to have this legislation.

This has nothing to do with taking money away from the Land and Water Conservation Fund or any other purpose.

I want to thank him personally for his commitment to this and to all my colleagues for their support and long-standing interest in the parks.

More importantly, this is a bit of a Kumbaya moment in that we are coming together, and that does not happen easily around this place.

I am going to challenge you on whether Cuyahoga Valley National Park has more visitors per capita.

Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for having this hearing and for co-sponsoring the legislation and for your passion for the parks.

I do think that, if you are confirmed, that this committee is going to be very interested in working with you on IRS reform.

I think it started off pretty well, and then, because of lack of support by every administration, frankly, along the way, it kind of fell to the wayside.

We believe it has been more truncated since 20 years ago with the reforms in place. We need to get back to a system where people feel they have an absolute right to appeal.

I agree that America's taxpayers should have their telephones answered if they call the Internal Revenue Service.

By 2015, just 3 years ago, only 37 percent of calls were being answered.

Only half of the calls were being answered when a taxpayer would call the IRS.

The IRS is not working. It is not functioning to help taxpayers.

By the way, more data and the ability to use the data, so it is not just having big data but to be able to put the analytics behind it so it makes sense, will help put the performance measures.

By the way, the 2-year goal is that it is a goal. As I said earlier, if agencies cannot meet that goal for some reason, they have to explain why, and how they are going to try to meet it.

The problem is we all want more infrastructure and we need it badly.

I think it is so important that the Council be permitted to consult on non-covered projects.