Orrin Hatch: “I want to thank my friend from Montana for all the hard work he has done with regard to the Senate Finance Committee and…”

“I want to thank my friend from Montana for all the hard work he has done with regard to the Senate Finance Committee and of course the tax problems we have in this country. He has been truly dedicated to reforming our Nation's Tax Code and truly dedicated to doing it in a bipartisan manner, which is something I very much appreciate. Our work together is starting to pay off. Tax reform is building momentum. Over the past 3 months we have issued 10 bipartisan options papers that detail reform proposals in every area of the Tax Code. The full committee has met on a weekly basis to discuss these options. We have made tremendous progress. We are now entering the home stretch, all of this under the leadership of Senator Baucus. Senator Baucus and I are here today to call on all of our colleagues--all of our colleagues--in the Senate to now provide their input to help us get tax reform over the finish line. We have a historic opportunity to do tax reform this Congress, to make the code simpler and fairer for the people we serve. We are determined to make it happen, but we need every Member's participation. In order to make sure we end up with a simpler, more efficient, and fairer Tax Code, we believe it is important to start with a blank slate, a Tax Code without all of the special provisions in the form of exclusions, deductions, credits, and other tax preferences that some refer to as tax expenditures.”