COMMITTEE on WAYS and MEANS

Opening Statements

Camp Opening Statement: Hearing on the Interaction of Tax and Financial Accounting on Tax Reform

Feb 8, 2012-- Good morning.  Today we are continuing our series of hearings on comprehensive tax reform.  This morning’s hearing will focus on the interaction of tax policy and financial accounting rules (such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or “GAAP”), and we will examine how this interaction affects the way in which publicly-traded companies respond to tax policy.   A subsequent... more

Opening Statements

Herger Opening Statement: Hearing on Programs that Reward Physicians Who Deliver High Quality and Efficient Care

Feb 7, 2012-- We are meeting today to hear from individuals who have experience to share that will inform us as we continue our effort to reform Medicare payments to physicians.  At our last hearing on this topic, we heard about different payment model options and efforts to test them in the private sector.  Today’s hearing, our second, focuses on more incremental, private sector-driven approaches... more

In Case You Missed It...

WaPo: Unemployment drop still leaves low skill workers behind

Feb 7, 2012-- Today, an article from The Washington Post highlights that despite the recent drop in the unemployment rate, Americans without a high school education continue to be at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to reemployment.  The article notes, “The news is worse for high school dropouts. One in five of them have lost their jobs since 2007, with about half of those losses occurring after the r... more

Press Release

Boustany, Coburn Request Information on Financial Mismanagement at HHS

Feb 6, 2012-- Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Charles Boustany Jr., M.D. (R-LA) and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Ranking Member Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius regarding an independent audit conducted by Ernst & Young, which reveals continued shortcomings and weaknesses within HH... more

Opening Statements

Camp Opening Statement: Markup of H.R. 3864 “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Financing Act of 2012.”

Feb 3, 2012-- Today the Committee will consider H.R. 3864, the “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Financing Act of 2012.”  This legislation would reauthorize through September 30, 2016 expenditure authority for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and extend through September 30, 2018 the current Federal excise taxes that fund the Highway Trust Fund.   H.R. 3864 also would restructure the funding sou... more

Opening Statements

Johnson Opening Statement: Hearing on the Social Security Administration’s Death Records

Feb 2, 2012-- Social Security has always collected death information so it can stop benefits to those who have died and start benefits for their survivors.  Today about 2.5 million death reports are received from many sources, including families, funeral homes, hospitals, financial institutions, States and Federal agencies.  Social Security shares death records with other Federal benefit paying agenci... more

The Prescription Pad

Another Day, Another Misleading Report from the Obama Administration

Feb 2, 2012-- Today, the Obama Administration released a “report” claiming that the Democrats’ health care law will “save the average Medicare beneficiary $4,200 by 2021.”  While their savings figure is highly suspect, perhaps they attribute the savings to: Medicare spending going down because hospitals and nursing homes where seniors are currently treated may be forced to close. Be... more