Ron Wyden: “I begin by commending Senator Conrad and Senator Gregg for doing an exceptionally good job bringing extraordinary…”

“I begin by commending Senator Conrad and Senator Gregg for doing an exceptionally good job bringing extraordinary professionalism and thoughtfulness to this debate, particularly because Chairman Conrad and Senator Gregg have focused on what are the big issues for this country. Relating to the domestic side of the budget--we all know the big international issue is Iraq--the big issues are taxes and health care. One of the most attractive parts of the Conrad budget is that it lays the foundation for this country to look at big fixes to our tax system and to health care. The Bush tax cuts expire at the end of 2010. One of the reasons I support the Conrad budget is that it lays the foundation for meaningful tax reform. The tax system is broken. We now have three changes in the Tax Code for every working day. There have been more than 14,000 changes to the Tax Code since the last comprehensive tax reform.”