Gerry Connolly

As a former local government official, I recognize some of the aspects of this issue in this hearing.

Mr. Crandall says, inter alia, that this is a misuse of PABs, and it's pretty clear in the code this the a circumvention of that.

I pay my taxes, and you pick up my trash. I pay my taxes; the clinic is open when I need it.

If you want to build democracy, it is built on a social contract.

I believe the building block of democracy starts at the local level, not the other way around.

That is why it exists, let alone democracy and what kind of government.

Something Congress obviously has to look at.

You have to be unassailable, you collectively.

It is important to note this committee has the scorecard on FITARA and the Pentagon got an F.

This committee on a bipartisan basis has to be assured as to the integrity of IGs as they do their work.

I am determined that we're going to codify the process.

If we want to preserve our way of life, our democracy, our quality of life, an island of 25, 30 million people with 1.5 billion people staring them across the Strait, you don't needlessly provoke them.

The people of Taiwan enjoy the lifestyle that is afforded by the political freedoms that they enjoy.

Isn't it true that in polling overwhelming majority of people in Taiwan want to continue the status quo indefinitely?

The U.S. goal which is stated in the Taiwan Relations Act is to ensure that any final resolution on the status of Taiwan is made through peaceful means, free of coercion of any kind.

We don't want to go to war with China. We don't want to have a hostile relationship with China.

No one should mistake congressional interest in protecting and fostering relations with Taiwan.

I am proud to serve as one of the co-chairs of the Taiwan Caucus.

Lord almighty, that is a long time ago.

I am just spit-balling here, but could that level, that magnitude of cuts and employee decreases, have anything to do with performance at IRS?

The IRS systems are subject to 2.5 million cyber attacks a day, 1 million of which are sophisticated attacks.

The idea that it is all of a sudden and a terrible thing, and the novel interpretation that the President's executive order to ease the burden could be construed as suspend enforcement, those are two very different things, are they not?

So it is not exactly all of a sudden, is it?

To be advised not to enforce a provision of the United States law would put you in grave jeopardy, actually, until and unless Congress repeals the law or parts of the law, which it has tried to do and hasn't succeeded.

Since 2010, when the Republicans took over Congress, the number of individual tax returns filed increased by 11 percent, while the IRS budget in inflation terms decreased by 20 percent.