Baucus Statement on Solutions to Tax Fraud and Tax ID Theft
The Czech writer and politician Vaclav Havel once said, “I have preserved my identity, put its credibility to the test and defended my dignity. What good this will bring the world I don’t know. But for me it is good.” Our identity represents who we are. It represents our morals, our culture, our sense of […]
Baucus Statement on the Nomination of Jack Lew to be Treasury Secretary
Less than two miles from where we sit today, at the entrance of the U.S. Treasury Building, stands a large bronze statue. One would assume the figure cloaked in colonial garb is Alexander Hamilton, America’s first Treasury secretary. Look again. This 12-foot-tall statue is of Albert Gallatin, the longest-serving U.S. Treasury secretary. In 1801, Thomas […]
Baucus says Bipartisan Tax Cut Extenders Bill Will Give Certainty to Families and Businesses, Support Jobs Nationwide
President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “Our capacity is limited only by our ability to work together.” People today often say that Congress has a limited capacity – that we can’t work together, that we can’t compromise and get anything done. By working together here today, we’re proving we still have the capacity to do […]
Opening Markup Statement of Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Russia
Benjamin Franklin once said, “You may delay, but time will not.” Franklin’s words ring true today as we work to pass legislation establishing permanent normal trade relations with Russia, or PNTR. We cannot afford to delay. Russia’s Duma today enacted its accession package, and Russia will formally be a member of the WTO next month. […]
Baucus Says Tax Reform Can Open Doors of Economic Opportunity for Future Generations
President Truman once said, “All of us want our children to have a better life than we had, and it should be the constant aim of each generation to make things better for the next.” As a father, I know how concerned parents can be about their children’s future. Americans just want their children to […]
Baucus Says Social Security Administration Needs Funding to Root Out Improper Payments, Fix Disability Backlog
President Kennedy once said, “A Nation’s strength lies in the well-being of its people.” No federal program touches more American lives and benefits more American families than Social Security. Next year, the Social Security Administration will pay benefits to almost 60 million Americans. Today we will examine the agency’s performance delivering benefits to workers and […]
Baucus Says Tax Reform Can Help Indian Tribes, U.S. Territories
There is a Crow proverb that says, “Man’s law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same.” Our desire to spur broad-based economic growth and give help to those who need it stays the same. But our laws are ever-changing. And while some were well-intentioned, the 15,000 […]
Baucus Examines Medicare Physician Payment System and SGR
American historian and author Stephen Ambrose once said, “The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope.” Today we begin the first in a series of roundtables about the Medicare physician payment system. This first discussion will focus on where things stand now and how we got here. We’re […]
Baucus Says Tax Reform Must Improve the Taxpayer Experience
Albert Einstein once said, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” Last week, taxpayers in Montana and across the country filed their annual tax returns. I’m sure many of them had the same thought Einstein expressed. We need to simplify the tax code. Reforming and simplifying the code will make […]
Baucus Says 2012 Trade Agenda Must Focus on Jobs, Export Growth
Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final.” Last year was a banner year for trade. We passed three free trade agreements to open new markets for U.S. exporters, we renewed Trade Adjustment Assistance to help U.S. workers retrain for a global economy, and we renewed two important preference programs to lower costs for U.S. […]