Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I have introduced two separate bills, S. 3790 and S. 3791, intended to hold members of Congress and other Federal employees to the same tax rules Washington imposes on the rest of America. In 2009, the Internal Revenue Service, IRS, found nearly 100,000 civilian Federal employees were delinquent on their Federal income taxes, owing over $1 billion in unpaid Federal income taxes. When considering retirees and military, more than 282,000 Federal employees owed $3.3 billion in taxes. These bills are not intended to single out the majority of Federal employees who work hard and pay their taxes, but members of Congress and Federal employees have a clear obligation to pay their Federal income taxes. Legislators and government employees should not be exempt from the laws they write and enforce. The very nature of Federal employment and the concept inherent to ``public service'' demands those being paid by taxpayers contribute their fair share of taxes. They should lead by example. Tax delinquency rate among congressional employees exceeds the rate of all returns filed nationwide. Taxpayers are fed up with those in Washington living under a different set of rules than the rest of America. At a time when Congress may allow taxes to increase on some or even all Americans, Congress should not expect other Americans to pay more taxes when they are not even paying the taxes they owe under the rates they set themselves.…”