Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 249, the Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2013. On close examination, it is obvious that this bill is deceptive, unnecessary, and even counterproductive. It's a bill that puts additional requirements on Federal workers that the rest of the public does not face: that of losing their job because of a tax lien. On top of this, common sense will tell you it's a very difficult thing to collect taxes or any debt from somebody who doesn't have a job. The IRS already has procedures in place to collect back taxes from Federal employees. The Federal Payment Levy Program allows the IRS to impose a continuous levy on Federal, and only Federal, employees up to 15 percent. This means Federal employees already are held to a higher standard and the IRS already has additional weapons in its arsenal, making the bill before us an over-the-top and punitive measure. It's a solution without a real problem and a solution that will only make it harder to actually collect taxes. And I question whether this is a sincere effort to improve our Nation or just another in a long series of unfair attacks on Federal employees and the unions that represent them. These are people who haven't had a raise in 3 years. These are people for whom many are receiving furlough notices even as we speak. These are people that now we're attacking in a new and better way. Mr.…”