The GAO just came out with a report the other day--published by Reuters yesterday, I think--'Corporate tax breaks cost U.S. Government $180 billion per year.'

If the Chamber of Commerce were to get its way and bring hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers into this country, there is no question in my mind it would drive wages up.

do you not think that there are ways to move toward deficit reduction in a way that is fairer than on the backs of disabled veterans?

I want to congratulate you. And, again, as the Secretary knows, my major criticism of the VA is they forget to tell the world what they are doing.

Well, that is a big if, and I understand that many of the people who get their dividends from corporate stock are in the top 1 percent.

At a time when one out of four major corporations pays zero in taxes, when we have growing wealth and income inequality in this country, by which the wealthiest people are doing phenomenally well, do you really think from a moral…

my understanding is that we are losing--and we have introduced legislation to remedy this--about $100 billion a year in revenue, a year, by companies' offshoring their profits in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and paying zero in taxes.

the vast majority of disabled vets would see significant cuts as opposed to the current chained CPI.

do you think it is a legitimate area to pursue, the fact that we have companies like Bank of America and virtually every major corporation stashing their money in the Cayman Islands, paying zero in Federal taxes?

The entire world will be in a financial collapse. We do not have to worry about Social Security.

But here we are struggling to deal with deficit reduction. Do you not see, when the corporate tax rate today is at 12 percent, the lowest that it has been since 1972, do you not see the opportunity to bring in substantial sums of revenue…

This is very cost-effective care. Preventing the complications of diabetes not only enhances people's lives, but it saves money.

before you cut a woman in Vermont who is living on $15,000 a year Social Security, you may want to end some of the loopholes that enabled the Bank of America to stash their money in the Cayman Islands and not pay any taxes at all.

Social Security has a significant surplus, and its trust fund could pay out benefits for the next 20 years.

the chained CPI would impact the benefits of 3.2 million veterans with war-related disabilities.

Back in 1952, 32 percent of all the revenue generated in this country came from large corporations. Today that number is 9 percent.

Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic in this country, and the veteran population is not being spared that.

I have been getting around a little bit, going to some facilities, and, again, as I mentioned, I was at my own facility in Vermont just this Saturday.

the answer to the deficit problem... is to cut Social Security, is to cut Medicare, is to cut Medicaid, is to cut programs for children.

the choice that we face, do you really in the middle of a recession want to cut Social Security benefits and Medicare benefits when corporations today are paying 12 percent of their profits in taxes, the lowest since 1972?

do you disagree with the numbers that I said. I believe they are accurate.

why are we not talking about bringing in substantial sums of new revenue rather than cutting Social Security or benefits for disabled vets?

In fact, between 2009 and 2011, as you well know, all of the new income created in America went to the top 1 percent.

average 65-year-old retirees would lose about $658 a year in Social Security benefits by their 75th birthday, a cumulative loss of more than $4,600.

But are you really suggesting to me, when the GAO tells us we are losing $180 billion per year, there is no way to capture revenue from corporate tax loopholes to help us with deficit reduction that is preferable than cutting Social…