WASHINGTON, D.C. - Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) delivered the following statement today at Subcommittee hearing on taxes and the Federal budget:
“I call this hearing to order. Please take your seats.
“I want to welcome everyone to this hearing of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee on taxes as part of the federal budget.
“In yesterday’s Washington Post, there was an interesting story with a headline you might have thought was satire. It read, “IMF Tells Wealthy Nations to Watch Debt." Really? I wonder why the IMF has to do that. But as you read the article, it becomes clear that what the U.S. is grappling with, so many others are too.
“The IMF official warned that the average debt-to-GDP ratio in the wealthiest countries is projected to reach levels that prevailed after World War II. And that this debt will drag down the potential for the wealthiest nations to continue our economic recovery.
“And so, while we are in good company, it is not much comfort. We have a responsibility to frankly, be responsible, as the largest economy of any single country in the world. While we have a Budget Committee here in the House tasked with setting out budget targets each year, this Committee has jurisdiction over a wide swath of spending and entitlement programs, and certainly over all tax revenues.
“Today, our witnesses will talk about both historical and projected data on spending and taxes. We will also hear from Joint Tax that the deficit picture is not pretty, even before the extension of some awfully popular tax cuts. In order to be responsible, this Committee is going to have to make some very difficult decisions.
“It was the economist John Maynard Keynes who said, “If I owe you a pound, I have a problem; but if I owe you a million, the problem is yours." This problem is ours and ours alone. I hope this hearing will be the first of many setting out how we can reform our tax code to push our economy forward."
