people. and the paycheck fairness act is a simple step towards making our laws reflect two of the most important values we have in the united states of america. i guarantee you if i walked up to any of my colleagues that intend to vote against this and said do you believe in equality and justice, they would say of course we believe in equality and justice. and justice. ' >> there are laws on the books. well, here's the deal. you can't get justice if you don't have the facts. if the facts are a secret, a protected secret, then justice is always going to be elusive.

equality will be something we give lip service too, not something we'll truly enjoy in this country, so this is just a step to say to american businesses, let us understand why two people making the same job have two different levels of pay. explain it to us. what is to evil about that? what is so evil about expecting a business to be able to explain why a man and a woman with the same experience, the same credentials, and the same work output are paid differently? if there is a good reason, then there's no litigation, no rush to the courthouse, but if there is not a good reason, that is where that justice comes in. that's where a woman has an opportunity to go into the town

halls of our courts, the engine of the world i might add, to have a fair shot at justice. the notion that someone could be fired for trying to get the facts about their own compensation. the notion that retaliation would somehow be embraced by my colleagues that don't intend to vote for this legislation. now, i know they are trying to explain to the american people that this has something to do with or having a love affair with america's trial lawyers. i have never heard more rubbish in my life. it's not the trial lawyers that we care about. it's the women. it's the single moms. it's the women that have the sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs that they are getting paid less, that they are helpless because that he can't

get at the information, and when they do, they have the entire burden of proof of showing that somehow they were not infear your to their male colleagues. there is no absolute possible reason that any of us would be trying to help lawyers with this. it's defiance, guys. it's the women of america. it is the women of america that want laws to reflect our values, equality, and justice. this is a simple step. it is nothing to be persuade of. frankly, l only thing anyone who opposes this bill should be afraid of is the wrath of american women across this country that are sick and tired of being told it's none of their business what they are paid, what their colleague is paid,

and, by the way, i don't have to explain to you why you make less even though your work output is superior to your male colleagues. it's time. it's just about our values. thank you, madam president, i yield the floor. >> thank you, madam president. >> the senator from washington. >> thank you, madam president. i'd like to join my colleagues and thank the senator from missouri for her statement as someone that's been involved in basically making sure the law is implemented and upheld. i appreciate her views on this. i thank senator mccull ski, and she's incident we pass the legislation, and that's why we are here. we want to make sure our colleagues understand how important it is to pass the paycheck fairness act. i encourage colleagues on both sides of the aisle and end discrimination that women face in america. this is a critical issue, not

just to women, but to men, because, obviously, households of america deserve to have equal pay, and the message from the american people is clear, they want congress to focus on the most important economic issues of the day. that is jobs and, certainly, having a job that pays you equally for the work that you do to your coworkers is important. the the paycheck fairness agent is what we should be working on, ways to strengthen the pocket book of many americans. that amounts to an average wage gap of $11,000 a year. the truth is that many women are the breadwinners in their families, and they should be paid as breadwinners. they should not face discrimination.

today, women make up 48% of the work force in the state of washington. these families are very important to our economy. on average, mothers in washington provide 41% of the household income, and nationally 40% of women are the soul primary breadwinners for the households. this is an important issue for the economy. just think of the boost they would get, the boost that we would see if they were paid equally. right now, one-third of the families headed by women in washington live in poverty. closing the wage gap means they would be able to afford 82 more weeks of food according to the partnership for women and families. it would mean better economic freedom. it would be the ability to buy more essentials. it means their families would be better off. more importantly, people need to

know the reduced pay gap reduces ability to save for the future. from the around the age of 35 through retirement, women are typically paid 75-80% of what men are paid, and over their lifetime, a woman in washington will earn $500,000 less than her male counterpart. that's money that can be saved and invested for the future. we must pass the paycheck fairness agent to end this disparity because this act requires employers it provide justification other than gender for highing men higher wages than women for the exact same job. it protects employees who share that information with others from being retaliated against. it provides victims with other discriminations including punitive and compensation damages. this is important legislation. it is important legislation that

ends the discrimination that women are seeing in the workplace. the paycheck fairness act will also help eliminate pay gaps to help these families that are struggling in our economy. just in case people get the wrong idea about this, i want to make sure people are clear. even in feels like engineering, computer science, women earn, on average, only 75% of their male counterparts. a woman with a master's degree will only make 70 cents for every dollar of her equally educated male counterpart. it's time the senate ends pay discrimination by passing the paycheck fairness act. i want young women to grow up today to know this is not an issue they'll have to deal with in the future. they will get equal pi. i thank my colleagues. i hope my colleagues on the

other side of the aisle help us in provoking closure to get the votes we need to pass the paycheck fairness act. i thank the president. i yield the floor. >> madam president? >> the senator from new york. >> i am proud to join this fight for paycheck fairness, and effort led by the dean in the women in the senate, the first democratic william ever elected to the senate in her own right and longest serving woman in congress today, senator barbara mikulski. this is the same fight many of our own mothers and grandmothers fought for, equal pay for equal work. the promise made by the equal pay act 50 years ago literally half a century ago continues to be broken every single day in the country, and when that happens, it doesn't just hold out women individually, but holds back entire families, the entire economy. today, women make up more than

half of america's population and nearly half the work force. women are out earning men in college degrees and advanced degrees, and our growing share of primary household earners, but to this day, men are still out earning women. women earns 70 cents for every dollar men earn. even less for women of color. in the years leading to the equal pay agent, only about 11% of the families relied on women as the primary wage earner for kids under 18. just 11%. today, 40% of primary or soul wage earners are women. 40% of families with kids under 18 that rely on women to pay the bills, balance the family finances, make the tough choices

at the kitchen table, and provide for their kids, but you would not know this by looking at america's workplace policies. they are stuck in the past. they are stuck in the madmen era. congress and state capitals have simply failed to keep up with the pace of the new economy in the face of the modern american workplace. this has to change. how can two income families and soul female bread winning households get ahead when they are shortchange every single month? if we want a growing economy and a thriving middle class, pay women fairly. it's really that simple. when women earn equal pay, america's gdp would grow up to 4%. it's common sense. it's the right thing to do to stengthen our economy, to strengthen our families, so, today, op equal payday, let's get it done. let's give america's women the fair shot they deserve to earn

their way ahead in today's economy. >> madam president? >> the senator from minnesota. >> madam president, i rise today to speak on the paycheck fairness act, an incredibly important bill, honored to be here with my colleagues and the leader of the women in the senator, senatormy culls ky. today is equal payday and marks the day where things warm up in my state. after a long deep freeze, we'll have 70 degrees. the snow will melt. the flowers will bloom. the message we're here to bring is that it's time to stop freezing the women of america out of this economy. the women of america want to be treated fairly, and right now, all the work we do, whether it's the up employment bill for unemployment compensation, it's stuck in a deep freeze over in the house of representatives, somewhere between the frozen

choke lat ice cream, and it's time to thaw out the freezer in washington, d.c. and help the women of america. that is what this bill is about, that is what this minimum wage bill is about. people deserve a fair shot at the american dream. in 2009, we passed a bill to make sure that workers could say pay discrimination based on gender, age, race, disability, or natural origin have access to the court. in doing so, we restored the original intent of the civil rights act and equal pay act. now it's time to prevent that pay discrimination from happening in the first place. we have made great strides in this body, and we have 20 women in the united states' senate,

but, of course, we are still only at 20%. the fortune 500 now has 23 women ceos, but i still think that anyone who looks at this knows that there are great strides that have been made, but great progress ahead, and despite all this progress, women in the country earn close to 80 cents for every dollar made by men. this pay gap has real consequences for american families. two thirds of today's families rely on a mother's income, either in part or in entirety, and in more than one-third of families, the mother is the main bread winner. we release the report this week that shows that lower wages impact women all throughout their working lives, and i think that's something people do not think about. the fact is you consistently make less money, retire, and you're going to live longer than men, you have less money to retire with in the first place.

in fact, women who retire have about $11,000 less per year than men have. that's pretty significant when you look at the age range where women will be in retirement. the other piece of this that we don't always think about, unless you're in the position, is women in the sandwich generation. women who are taking care of aging parents at the same time they are taking care of children. that is happening every single day in this country. as women are having to take leads from work or leave their jobs to take care of an aging parent or they are still struggling to afford to send their kids to college, to send their kids today care. this legislation, madam president, will build on the fairness pay act. it will give women new tools and protectiveness to guard against pay discrimination and reaform that basic principle that all women deserve equal pay for equal work. i'm hopeful we get it done for the people of the country.

it was the late senator paul wellstone of minnesota that said, "we all do better when we all do better." i still believe that is true, and so do my colleagues who join me today. we have to focus on this bill. we need to up freeze some old beliefs, and we need to bring a little spring into the united states senate. thank you, madam president, i yield the floor. >> madam president? >> the senator from california. >> madam president, senator mikulski and i whispered to each other about how far we've come since the day that anita hill came to the hill, and we couldn't really do much to help her, but we organized and recognized that women had to be here in numbers sufficient to make a difference, and, clearly, today, we are. my colleague, senatormy mikulski

is our dean of the women, and she's saying in an echo chamber is this, women deserve a fair shot. it's long past time for us to stop shortchanging half of the country and their families. i want to show you a chart that shows what happens to a woman in a year when she gives up $11,000 because she's not paid for the same job the same amount a man is. what could that $11,000 be? that could be a year of grocery, madam president. she could provide a year of rent. a year of day care, buy a used car, afford community college. that's one year. look at what happens over the course of a lifetime. when, because a woman is not creating her fair share equal amount she zephyrs, only 7 o

cents on the dollar, over her lifetime, it's $443,000. what could she do with that? pay off her entire mortgage, send three kids to the university of california, a great school, i might say, buy 8,000 tanks of gas. what's the point of this? that's to show that the dollars that the women are not getting should be going into the community could be making sure their families are taken care of, would make all the difference in the world. now, i was a little startled to see some of my republican friends on the other side of the aisle and the other side of the house, republican members of the house say, and saying women don't need this. do children need protection against child labor? the answer is yes.

did workers need protection from a 14-hour day when they were being exploited? yes. did we need to make sure people in hazardous workplaces like chemical companies have appropriate protective gear? yes. did we need to make sure that there are fire exits in a crowded factory after a horrific fire? >> yes. well, now we need to make sure that these women get equal pay for equal work. it's just part of the continuing of bring bending the arc of history to justice. that's what's happening here. with the leadership of senator mikulski and us standing on her shoulders, and i often say it's a great thing, it's a great day to hear my colleagues come to the floor and speak as one. we are speaking not only for the women of america who make up half, more than half, but for their families. that's the point.

two-thirds of women are either the soul head of households, or they share in providing for the economic well being for their families. this is a matter of justice. this is a matter of fairness. this is a matter of a fair shot, and i'm proud to stand with my colleagues. i hope, and i hope and pray, that we will get this 60 votes necessary. there's a filibuster going on as usual. we need a super majority, but i say to my colleagues on the other side, too many women have to be super women, so you can give a super majority. super women, not one job, but two jobs, so, please, help us. let's celebrate tomorrow with a great vote, and i yield the floor. >> madam president? >> the senator from washington. >> thank you, madam president. i want to start by expressing

key thanks and appreciation to senator mikulski for tremendous leadership in the fight for equal pay and bringing the paycheck fairness act to the forefront of the debate's succession. the debate shifted dramatically over the last few decades. today, 60% of families rely on earnings from both parents, up from 37% in 1975, 6 o%. women today make up nearly half the work force, and more than ever, women are likely to be the primary breadwinners in the family. women are making a difference in the economy, board rooms, lecture hall, and small businesses, but despite the important progress we have made since the equal pay act passed now 50 years ago including passing the lily ledbetter act thanks to senator mikulski in 2009 to give more women tools to fight pay diskrill nation,

women's wages have not caught up with the times. across the country today, women still earn 77 cents on the dollar on averaged to do the exact same work as men. it would take a typical woman until today to earn what a map would earn the same work in this year, in 20 # 13. that difference adds up. in seattle, in my home state last year, women earned 73 cents on the dollar, 73 cents on the dollar comparedded to the male counterpart. that translated to a gap of $16, 346. nationwide, over a typical women's lifetime, pay discrimination amounts to $464 ,000 in lost wages, that's not just unfair to women, but bad for our families and bad for our economy.

at a time when more and more families rely on women's wages to put food on the table or stay in their homes or build a nest egg for retirement or pay for children's education, it is absolutely critical that we do more to eliminate pay discrimination and unfairness in the workplace. the paycheck fairness act would tackle pay discrimination head on. it would ramp up enforcement of equal pay laws and strengths assistance to businesses to improve equal pay practice. i hope workers are compensated base op how they do their job, not whether they are male or female, and i hope we pass the paycheck fairness act as quickly as panel so working women and families are in the country, but we can't stop there. we need to build on critical reforms with other steps towards giving women a better and a fairer shot at getting ahead.

one out of four women in the united states today would benefit from raising the minimum wage. that's 15 million american women who are making the equivalent of about two gallons of gas an hour. it is clearly time to raise the minimum wage and give working women in the country some much deserved relief. there's others ways, madam president. we can and should be updating policies to help women make ends meet. for example, thanks to our outdatedded tax code, a woman who is thinking about reentering the work force as the second earner in the family is likely going to face higher tax rates than her husband. that would come in addition to increase the costs she would have with child care, transportation, and possibility of losing tax credits and other benefits after the house hole income rises. all of this means that struggling families will experience higher tax rates than what many of the wealthiest

americans pay. it can discourage a potential second earner r like a mom who talks about reentering the work force from returning to her professional career. i recently introduced the 21st century work agent that helps solve the problem by giving struggling two-earner families with children a tax deduction on the second earners income. the joint committee on taxation estimates that that change alone would cut taxes by an average of 7 $700 for 7.3 million families next year. the 2 # # 1 #st century worker tax cut expands the eitc for childless workers and lowers the eligibility age so that people without dependents and young workers just starting out can benefit from the credit. by the way, this is bipartisan. it builds on worker centers in the eitc and pays for by getting

rid of wasteful corporate tax loopholes. both camps agree ought to be closed. now, opinion leaders from across the political spectrum said this bill would provide much needed relief to workers and families. one conservative commentator wrote in the national review that the 21st century worker tax cut is, and i quote, a serious proposal that has the potential to better lives of a large number of our workers, and in a new "new york times" said it's a huge benefit to low forecast childless families and earner families. i'm hopeful that here in congress we will see similar support on both sides of the aisle for a bill that would help women and working families get more of what they earn, and we've come a long way in the terms of opportunities women have today, but there's no question we have a lot more work to do. if we take these steps that i've

talked about and others here talking about, we will do much to break down the barriers today. we'll help working women and their families, strengthen our economy, and we'll expand opportunities r -- for the next generation. i'm here to urge my colleagues to support the paycheck fairness act and build on that by continuing to help level the playing field for american women and their families. thank you, madam president, and i yield the floor. >> the senator from maryland. >> madam president, this is not only a woman fight. we rereceiver this time. there's many good mep in the senate who stand shoulder to shoulder with us, and i know the senator from west virginia would like to have two minutes before he presides. i yield him two minutes. actually, i should yell him 7%

of what we got, but we're for equal pay and equal time as well. >> the senator from west virginia. >> a minute 45 seconds, madam president. i thank the chairwoman for what she does, how well she leads the charge for us. as a proud husband of a brilliant, brilliant, talented woman and father of two daughters and a grandfather of six granddaughters, all of whom are gifted and make great contributions to the country, i believe it's past time that women earn the same amounts of men in the workplace. we knee to correct this unfairness to make sure women are paid what they deserve. as we join together today to celebrate equal payday in the year 2014, it justifies comps that working -- common sense that working women in west virginia earn only 70 cents, not 77, but 70 cents to every dollar a man makes. too many families work too hard to make ends meet, and especially in families where

women are the breadwinners. in west virginia, there's more than 81,000 family households by women, and 36% of the families or nearly 29,200 family house holes have income that fall below poverty level. eliminating the waste gap provides income to women whose wages put food on the table, pay bill, and maintain quality of life for their children and families. growing up, i was raised by two strong hearted working women, my gram, and the ladies taught me women work just as hard, if not harder, with more responsibility, and they should get paid the same as a man. as a matter of fact, they should be getting overtime. there's no reason why they shouldn't have received the same pay for the same job as men then, and they certainly, certainly res enate that today. i join the senate to join in the

paycheck fairness act and the first vote i took in the senate was for paycheck fairness. until they pass a common sense bill, i'll continue to fight because bottom line is people should earn the same pay or the same work period, no excuses. i will say as a former governor, most of my decision making was made aarp good strong women who sat down and gave me the facts and nothing but the facts. i appreciated that. it shouldn't matter whether you're man or women, but be treated fairly no matter what, where you are, or what you do. thank you, madam president. >> senator? >> madam president? >> the senator from north dakota. >> thank you so much, and i want to thank our great friend and leader from the state of maryland for continuing her hard work. i wonder if she wakes up in the morning wondering when it will be done and when we'll see justice. she's learned over the years

that until you stand up, every day, and live that life, live a life where you make positive change in america, it doesn't get done, and she's somebody who never has given up. i think it's interesting. north dakota like west virginia is a state where women earn less than men and below the national average less than men. looking at the national average, 77%, that is a horrible, horrible statistic. you know what's horrible? it's really horrible if you live that status tig. one person in this body lives that. we're all treated equally. it doesn't matter, you know, what gender we are. if we're members of congress, we're treated equally. could you imagine what the outpouring of sympathy and support would be if we got 77% of a male's salary? we'd think that is atrocious and how could that happen in

america? it happens every day in america. it happens every day for working women who are supporting their families, women who go to work 40 #-60 hours to support families and to improve the economies of their state. they keep spinning their wheels. they keep working at trying to change this and they do not get ahead. how many of us could take a 25% reduction in salary? that's really what we're asking every woman in america to do. not across the board. certainly, op average. every woman in america needs to take a 25% reduction in their salary. that is not fair. it should not be the facts of 2014. it should not be the way things are. you know, we've. in a lot of discussion around the opportunities for women, and issue obviously, we've grown -- you can't see 20 women in the united states senate and not think that we're making some

progressings but we have to think not only about the women in professional occupations, but those women who are school cooks and janitors like my mother. those women who are working every day at the diaper to put food op the table, to put food on their family's table open food on the table of their patrons. when we're talking about this, i also talk about the need for app increase in my opinion mum wage, which i know is a topic for further discussion op the floor. i'd like to remind my fellow senators that the current minimum wage, which is -- we all know over remitted by women, the number of people earning minimum wage, overrepresent by women is less than 9%. it's less than 9% of a congressal salary. we have people in this body who think that the salary they receive is inadequate, but yet

we expect people to work 40 hours a week. even if you had two minimum wage jobs, think about it, working 40 hours a week, two minimum wage jobs, you still make less than $32,000 a year. working 80 hours a week. that's the story of have many women in the country, and it cuesed to be, you know, when we were growing up, women in the work force, they were working for, you know, for the extra income or excuse given over and over again, well, she's just supplementing the income, and the man's the breadwinner, and she's earning extra to buy a mu refrigerator, whatever it is. that's not the reality of today. the reality today is that more women are the primary or soul breadwinners for their family j and we have got to correct this problem. i've listen ped to the debate, but there's other ideas op how

to do this, this won't promote or give a way forward for change. you know, these maintain the status quo, they will magically change in the country. what suggests to us after 20 years of this struggle or 30 years # of this struggle, 40 years of this struggle, what would suggest to us that we are going to get charity if we don't take pretty proactive action here in the united states senate and united states congress? to say what a woman does is valuable, and it's at least as valuable as what a man does in the exact same job, and that's who we are as a country. we are gender neutral. that's what we're trying to do right here. maintain our gender neutrality and great economy. if we put money into those women's family budget, that

money will go out and build the economy more. at the bottom line, let's have a little sympathy in this body for people who earn less than 20% of what the united states' senator earn. let's give them a show of support a thankful from the country for the hard work they put in every day and tell them those words in our constitution and promise of equality is still not realized, but we can work together to make it a reality in their life. thank you. i yell the floor. >> mr. president? >> senator from wisconsin.

>> i'd like to start by thanking senator mikulski for organizing this today, but much more importantly for your leadership over the years op this issue. we are so proud to have you as #* our dean. i come to the floor today op equal payday to stand up and speak out about app issue that impacts women and families in every state across the country. today, i rise to give voice to the belief that we need to be working together across party aisles, to build an america where hard work is rewarded and where there is a fair shot for everyone to realize their pursuits and dreams. in america today, the growing gap between rich and everyone else is at its largest point in 100 years. absence of upward mobility for hard working families demands action because if we can't close

this gap, we might someday talk about middle class as something we used to have, not something each generation can aspire to. as i traveled the home state, wisconsin told me that the powerful and well connected seems to get to write all their own rules while concerns and struggles of middle class families go unnoticed here in washington. they feel their our economic system is tilted towards those at the top and our political system exists to protect unfair advantages. instead of making sure that every gets a fair shot. >> i rise to say there's paycheck inequality for hard working american women across the country, and that it is time we do something about it. working women make up over 50% of the work force, and they are

working harder than ever to get ahead. they deserve to get ahead. many are working full-time, and many are working two jobs to make ends meet, yet far too many are barely getting by, and far too many women own children are living in poverty. the least we can do is level the playing field and give women a fair shot at getting ahead because they deserve equal pay for equal work. it's simply unfair that women are paid on average 77 cents for r every dollar paid to a man. this really is holding women back, and it's holding our entire economy back. i am proud to join my colleagues today to deliver a call for action to pass the paycheck fairness act and give women equal pay for equal work. this legislation will help close the paycheck gap for women.

it will help create upward mobility for women, and it will help strengthen the economic security of millions of families across our country. let me take the time to tell you just one story of one woman. shannon is a single mother of three from two rivers, wisconsin. shannon is working hard to support her family, but the pay gap is holding her back. shannon has continued her education to advance her career as an interpreter in a school. she faces the grim reality that women teachers are often paid less than their male counterparts. in fact, and this is so hard to believe, but statistics collected by our department of labor make it clear that women earn less than men in almost all occupations commonly held by women. passing the paycheck fairness act will help close the pay gap and provide shannon and so many

others with financial freedom for their families. it would help shannon manage issues that working moms face every single day, unexpected car problems, children outgrowing their participants and shoes, ang anxiety of not being able to save a little bit of the paycheck to someday send their children to college. to put this in the simplest terms possible, it would give shannon a fair shot at passing on o stronger future for her children. today, women working full-time in winsconsin go home with $10324 less a year than their male counterparts do. in wisconsin, 31% of households headed by working women have incomes that fall below poverty levels. this is simply wrong. it's our job to work together to change that. millions of american women get

up every day to work hard for the middle class dream. good job that pays the bills, health care coverage you can rely on, a home you can call your own, a chance to save for your kids' college education, and a secure retirement. but instead, gender discrimination is holding women and their families back. eliminating the pay gap will make families more secure. nearly 6 # 0% of women would earn more if women were paid the same as men of the same experience with similar education and hours of work. the poverty rate for women would be cut in half. it's wrong for us to ignore the gap between the economic security that american women work so hard to achieve and the economic uncertainty that they are asked to settle for.

with a record number of women in the work force today, the right thing to do is pass the paycheck fairness act and empower women with a fair shot at equal pay. i urge my colleagues to join me in working to pass the paycheck fairness agent because it would strengthen families and our economy by providing working women with the toolings they need to close the gender pay gap. it will show the american people our commitment to working together to provide a fair shot for everyone. i yell back. >> mr. president? >> until >> thank you very much, mr. president. i rise in strong support of the paycheck fairness act. i'd like to, first, commend the senior senator from maryland for her fierce and tireless leadership on the issue. she's been a parochial force when it comes to this issue and so many others.

i deeply admire and respect her. this week, i hell my annual round table with the women's fund in providence talking about equal rights, equality, equal opportunity, and justice with women creating jobs and fighting inequality every day, and, today, as my colleagues have pointed out, we mark equal payday. women would have to work until april 8th of this year just to earn what men did on december 31st of last year. passing the paycheck fairness act moves us a step closer to being able to commemorate equal payday op december 31st each year for both men and realm. that is what we should be striving for. this year, we're marking the 50th anniversary of the civil rights agent and war op poverty. we've come a long way. our efforts to form a more perfect, more equal union must continue forward. when president kennedy signed the e equal pay act into law in

1963, women were earning app average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. no matter how you slice it, weekly earnings, by level of education or occupation, there is still a gender gap pay today. the issued report shows that gender discrimination and pay is more striking for minority women. in rhode island, african-american women make 61 cents for every dollar that a white male makes. for latinas, the figure is 51 cents. this gender discrimination in pay gap affects women at all educational levels. according to the -- they are likely to complete college, that's right. today, women are completing college more than men. they were 21% more likely than

men to be college graduates, but this is not closing the earning gap. for those who say it's all about education, these people have more education, that's wrong. it's not. women who earn advance degrees start off on an even footing. those people with masters and ph.d.es, again, over the course of the careers, the wage gap wideps in favor of men, and the national poich for women and families report that womens with masters' degrees are paid 70 cents for every dollar paid to men with master's degrees, and women with master's degrees earn less than men with bachelor degrees. equal pay is a matter of equity. there's real economic consequences. families rely on income. there's national partnership that they are the primary or

soul bread winners in nearly 40% of the families. if we eliminate discrimination in right, a working woman has money to buy 74 more weeks of food for her family. make six more months of mortgage and utility payments, or pay 11 months of rent, and that just doesn't help the woman, but the family. one of the best deals in fighting poverty is close the pay gap, this helps fulfill the promise of equal pay by um proving remedyies vail. they are common sense improvements for our mothers, daughters, brothers, sisters, sons, we must pass the paycheck fairness act. everyone deserves a fair shot. that includes equal pay for equal work. i urge colleagues to come together and pass the paycheck fairness act, and with that, i would yield the floor.

>> for weeks, republicans have been trying to get democrats to focus on the one issue that americans say they care the most about, and that's the jobs and the economy. everyone agrees we're in the midst of the jobs crisis in our country. what republicans have. saying is here are some concrete things, some concrete things we'd actually do about it. democrats are exreel shutting us out. if government is not part of the solution or if it does not drive a wedge between one group of people and another, they are just not interested. he's just one idea i've propose, and that democrats have brushed aside.

how about helping workers better balance the demands of work and family by allowing them time off as a form of overtime compensation. this is an idea tailored to the needs of the modern work force, something a lot of working women say they really want. it's something government employees have already enjoyed for years. what we're saying is let's give today's working women and private sector the same flex the working women have in the government. everybody's familiar with the idea of getting paid time and a half for overtime work. what this bill would do is give people a choice of getting a proportion gnat bump in time off for overtime work. if you work an extra hour, you can get an hour and a half off work. this should be, really, a no brainer. this is a concrete proposal to help men and women adapt to the needs of the modern workplace

and for the workplace to adapt to the modern work force. this is not just a way to help workers. it's a way to especially help working women. flexibility is a major part of the achieving work-life balance, especially for working moms. that's what this antidepressant is all about. -- this amendment is all about, so, therefore, mr. president, i ask unanimous concept closure is evoked to proceed that all closed closure time is yielded back and senate proceed to consideration of the bill, and that it be an oared for me to offer amendment no. 2962, and then for the majority leader or designated offer an amendment and order for leaders or does knees to continue to offer amendment in alternating fashion. >> is there objection? >> i object. >> objection is heard.

>> senator from south dakota. >> mr. president, i have unanimous concept request to put forward as well. i ask unanimous concept if cloture is evoked to proceed to the bill, that all closeture time is yielded back and senate proceed to consideration of the bill and order for me to offer amendment no. 2964, and then for the majority leader to offer an amendment and it be in order for the leaders to continue to offer amendments in amounter nateing fashion with following amendment on the republican side in order. mcconnell no. 2962, fisher no. 2963 # #. alexander no. 2965, and, lee, no. 2966. >> is there objection? >> would my friend read the summit matter of the three amendments? >> senator from south dakota, can you read the subject matter.

>> mcconnell amendment just addressed deals with flex the in the workplace, comp time. the fisher amendment has to do with antidiscrimination in the workplace. the lee amendment has to deal also, i believe, with comp time, flexibility in the workplace. senator from tennessee, senator alexander is here, and he can speak to his amendment, but most of them deal with the pending business, mr. president, the senate bill 29 -- 2199, pay equity act that the majority leader expects to get a closure vote on later. we ask we have opportunity to offer amendments pertaining to the bill on issues that we think are important in addressing the issue that's before us. >> mr. president? >> joint leader. >> rereceiver the right to object. now is the amendment that you talked about that would be suggested in a subsequent time, is that the 350-page amendment offered last week?

>> senator from tennessee? >> senator, if i may respond to the ma joy for leer, the answer's no. the alexander amendment, i would say to my friend from nevada, is a pretty simple amendment. it talks about giving working parents more flexibility so they can did to soccer games and so they can go to piano resite les, in other words, to be better parents. one. greatest values that a few years ago i was, along with captain kangaroo, and a few others, i started a company which has become merging with another company, the largest work site day care company in america, and what we found out was the greatest value that working parents with children wanted was flexibility. our fear is that this proposal, which is called paycheck fairness, would actually limit the flexibility of employers to

give to working parents flexibility to go to their children's activity, and my amendment is a simple amendment, paragraph or two, to simply restate the law that makes it clear that if you run a dry cleaner with free people in it, you don't have to hire a lawyer to define a job for an employee with a child in such a way that that employee can go to the pee yap know resite recital or soccer game. rather than litigation, it's flexibility for working parents. >> majority leader. >> before my friend from south dakota leaves the floor, that is the big one then? >> that's right. >> okay. mr. president? >> [inaudible] >> rereceiverring the right to obj ergs --

object. i'm happy to see a number of republican colleagues come to the floor. we've. talking about the issue for days now. discuss, i thought, the date of the subject and equal pay for women. there's no talk about equal pay for women. close to anything that that regard has been suggested as a bill that says that if you work overtime and you have a choice of going home or doing the overtime, mr. president, the reason we don't have laws like that is because there can be an advantage taken of the employee, you're at the beck and call of the employer, not really minding most labor laws protect against that now.

i'm surprise we've heard no one coming to the floor other than the statement i could have missed it, but the at the same time was this was a legislation that was a trial lawyer's dream. what the women who have come and talked about this today and the men who talked about it including the priding officer which i heard the statement are trying to say, we need to be ensured this is a fair shot for the middle class. in this instance, women. the republicans always want to change the subject. i don't have a debate op this, whether women are entitle to have the same pay as men. the senate's debating a motion to proceed to the equal pay bill, so the question before the

senate is whether we should even begin debate on the matter. senator, wire to offer amendments. have to begin debate. i'm always happy to talk about amendments, and i'm certainly, my friend from south dakota's amendment is nothing that's reasonable. what that amendment does is offer lots of amendments. i think if we look closely at the 350-page amendment, we might find the kitchen sink in it. there's everything else in it. it is really a perfect example of trying to divert attention to the subject at hand. it's a serious effort to legislate equal pay for equal work. the colleagues scw concept for

unlimited number of amendments, been there before, and we know it does not work. providing a limited number of amendments is another way of saying they want to filibuster the bill, which they have done artfully over the last five years. my door remains open to further discussions, but i october to requests made. >> objection heard. >> including the one i anticipate for my friend from tennessee. >> mr. president? >> is there anything pending? >> senator from zach. oh, sorry, majority leader? >> i want to be sure there's not any pending requests. >> no, sir. >> senator from south dakota. >> mr. president, i think it's what you just heard was a number of numbers that passedded away, we're going to talk about offers when we get on the bill, and i assume we will at some point, to propose amendments, vote on them, and we're talking about an

issue that's important to people across the country, and we have amendments that we think would improve, stengthen, make better the bill that is going to be on the floor that's been described as pay equity agent by the democrats. we think, actually, that there's a better way to do this. we think there's a way that would improve wages, provide better opportunities for advancement for women in the country, and this morning, the majority leader quoted ralph waldo emerson who, and the american dream is to workhearted, achieve mobility. they want to earn a fair wage. the current obama economy is doing everything it can to hurt the american dream. the economy is stagnant, 10 million americans who are inemployed, and incomes are falling and right now, there's 3.7 more million women living in

poverty than when they took office. irepeat that. there's 3 #.7 more million women living in poverty today than when the president took office. the median income dropped by 773 dollars since president obama took office. that's why this body should be focused on policies that lift the government imposed burdens that impede job opportunities and quick growth. i offered the amendment, asked content to have the debate and voted on when we get on this bill, that actually is focused on end acting policies that lift the government burdens that impede job economics and growth. it's the good jobs, good wages, act, returning america to a place where there's good job opportunities. this creates jobs by raping in burdensome requirements, shielding workers from the damaging effects of the obamacare, improving the xl

pipeline to provide releaver to employers looking to expand and hire. republicans could not agree more that women should have equal opportunities and pay in the workplace. unfortunately, the legislation that our friends on the other side are pushing will not accomplish that goal. that increases federal regulations that cuts flexibility in the workplace for working moms and ends merit pay that rewards quality work. the democrats are trying to change the subject of how ideas hurt women in the work force. of those affected by the democrats, obama care's 30-hour workweek, that's reducing wages, 63% of women. that's policy, a 30-hour workweek, as define as such in the obama care, 63 #% of the impact of that is being felt by women in the country. r5 00,000 jobs, the cbo projected loss by the end of

2016 thanks to the democrat's minimum wage hike, 245,000 those of 57% are jobs held by women. these policies are going to hurt women, mr. president. the poverty raid is 16% when the president took office. the poverty rate higher, women are living in worse conditions than when the president took office, and if the democrats are serious about fixing the problem and helping women, work wuss on bills to create jobs. to expand workplace opportunities for women and men as well. that's exactly what my amendment does that addresses problems created by obamacare, includes a push by senator collins, restores the workweek i mentioned earlier, and repeals the job destroying medical

device tax. this ensures long term unemployed are not punished by the cost of obamacare, the employer mandate in the legislation. that issue was raised in the senate on behalf the veterans, and in the house, a bill passed 40 # 6 to 1. there's permanent, targeted tax relief to millions of small businesses. small businesses create 65% of the all new jobs, yet this administration's done a little more than punish them with more regulation and higher taxes. amendment also calls the harmful epa regulations until there's adiggal analysis of the impact of existing rules op jobs. it is time, mr. president, this body recognizes the policy the other side is advancing. they are not achieving the outcomes they claim will occur. we need to renew commitment to helping all american, including women, find job opportunities that allow them to achieve the

american dream. we need to return this country to a place where america really is another name for opportunity. earlier tea, the president and ceo of the small business and entrepreneurship counsel wrote an article says this proposal that i'm talking about offers a set of really good policy proposals to help women entrepreneurs and women in the work force, end quote. that's why i was down here, mr. president, asking unanimous consent to be able to have this amendment, debate it, to have it voted op, and along with my colleague, we have senator from nebraska, senator from new hampshire here to talking about amendments they want to put forward as a part of the debate, and i ask unanimous consent those amendments are considered as well, mr. president, and, again, that that has. blocked by the majority leader. that's the wrong way to deal with an issue of this consequence. if you want to help people in the country, create jobs, grow the economy, which, ultimately,

helps lift all the boats in the country, improves the standard of living for middle class families, women and men, the best way to do that is to getting a growing, vibrant economy instead of the stagnant economy we haved today with too many who have been unemployed for a long period of time. i hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle come to the cop collusion if we debate the r, we do it in a comprehensive way that takes into consideration all ideas out there including those offered by my colleagues here this afternoon. mr. president, i yell the floor. >> mr. president? >> senator from nebraska. >> thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i strongly affirm the principle of equal pay for equal work. both equal pay agent and title vii of the civil rights agent

passed on by partisan basis in connection withed career opportunities for women and ensure they receive equal faye for equal work. that's a principle we strongly sport. women made progress, holing more than half of all manager and professional jobs. more than double the number of women in 1980. women compromised majority in the five fastest growing jobs field. according to the department of education, women receive 57% of all college degrees, 33% more than in 1970. we believe the reports prepared for the u.s. department of of labor recognize that these wage gaps statistics do not tell the full story. factors in differences in occupation, education, the fields of story type of work, hours worked, and other personal

choices shape career pallets and earning potential. salaries alone do not count for total company sages. still, some women continue to struggle with discrimination, impacting a woman's livelihood, financial security, and with 60% of women working as the breadwinners, lost wages impacts families as well as single women. we fully agree that gender based pay discrimination in the mod earn workplace is unacceptable. we just have different ideas from some colleagues about the best way to combat this. per vailing among women with wage discrimination indicates that there is more worked too.

that's why i worked with senator collins, senator mikulski to work op the equal pay agent. this proposal prevents retaliation against employees who inquire about, discuss, or disclose salaries. it reenforces current law, which prohits pay discrimination based on gender, and requires employers to notify the employees of the rights, but we don't stop there because i believe we need a solution that addresses both discrimination and the opportunity gap or the need to provide both men and women with good paying jobs. our amendments cop sol date due publictive job training programs and provides federal grants to states for the creation of industry-led partnership.

this program is met to provide women and men who will under represented in industries that report worker shortages with the skills they need to compete. such industries include manufacturing, energy, transportation, information, technology, and health care. importantly, no new spending is appropriated. up fortunately, my colleagues from the other side of the aisle are blocking consideration of what i believe is this verying very common sense and a number of other republican amendments that would also help with job creation. you know, this is nothing more than a election year politics. i find it very, very disappointing.

as women, as lawmakers, we believe that our proposal to directly address the discrimination in the work place is reasonable, fact based, and it's a great approach. more governments and more lawyers will not lead to more pay for women. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. >> mr. president? >> senator from new hampshire. >> mr. president, i want to praise my colleagues from nebraska for her leadership on the important amendment she has just described. the workplace advancement agent that will address legitimate issues to ensure that laws that we have had in place for half a century, including the equal pay act and title vii of the civil rights act, are enforced and

that women are inform of their rights in the workplace to ensure what we all believe in, that women should be paid the same for the same job, and, frankly, as a woman, i would like the opportunity to out perform and to be paid more, and a concern i have about what i view of the majority leader came to the floor and said that this was app important issue to them, well, if this was such app important issue, why didn't they have a markup in the health committee where everyone could offer their amendments to deal with this legitimate issue that i believe my male and my female colleagues think is important. why is it that when we have brought legitimate amendments to the floor incoming my colleagues amendment, the work place advancement act as well as

provisions that allows greater flex the for the employees with comp time, the same that is end joyed by those in the public sector, my colleague from south dakota who has a strong amendment to help create a better climate for job creation and more opportunity in this country, if this is such a serious issue, which i agree, this is an important and serious issue, then why is it that these amendments are being blocked? why is it that we have a legitimate debate? up fortunately, what i fear is something that is an important and legitimate issue is turnedded into a political ploy of election year politics, and as i share the sentiments of my colleagues from nebraska, i'm very disappointed by this, and, in fact, one of the concerns i have about the bill pending on the floor, the so-called paycheck fairness act, is that it will actually have the impact

of of reducing flexibility for working families, that it could have the impact oferer deucing the ability of employers to award mart pay because, mr. president, i had the privilege of receiverring adds the first woman attorney general in my state. before i went to the attorney general's office, i worked in a private law firm. i had the opportunity in the position that i serve in to meet incred l women leaders in the health sector, in the business sector, and there are many instance, frankly, where women based op merit outperformed their male colleagues, and so what we don't want to do is create and pass a law that reduces the opportunity for employers in the workplace to

reward merit because women want the opportunity to earn more than men when they do a better job just like my male counterparts want the same, and that is one of my concerns about the so-called paycheck fairness act, and that is why i very much appreciate, i think, which is a better approach by my colleague, which reenforces the enforcement of laws that have been in place that rightly prohibit discrimination based on sex in the workplace. including discrimination based on people paid differently even though they perform the same job where there are no merit differences. that is wrong. it's unacceptable. my colleague from nebraska's ideas, i think, are very, very good, and i would hope that the majority leader would allow a vote on this. i would also like to discuss the

amendment that was offer by senator mcconnell, which i'm a co-sponsor of, and that would provide working families with more flexibility. .. work force. in fact, what it would do is it would allow the same options currently available to those in the public sector to working families in the private sector. it would allow workers, if they want to and it's their choice, to receive comp time instead of overtime pay so that they can have more time off if they want and they choose, this is all voluntary, so if they want more time off to go to that soccer game, if they want more time off to have time to care for their children or more time to care for an elderly parent, then private sector employers will have the same ability to enter those agreements voluntarily with their employees to give

their employees more flexibility their employees more flexibility >> what we know today nearly 60 percent of working households have two working parents. i live in one of those households angry struggled to get to all the events we wanted to get to forever children. i have a manual and a sexual this is a huge challenge sova family friendly workplace flexibility act, etc. mcconnell sponsored earlier would provide the needed flexibility for workers. whether they would like to receive more comp time. public sector employs have a right to do this to allow

private sector employees trying to balance both parents working and challenging circumstances in the workplace. some like bank of america and ge always provide sensible workplace arrangements to the salary to employees and to allow these types of agreements to other employees to have access to the same kinds of benefits if they choose. the gives it more flexibility, more opportunity to deal with the challenges that so many of us are dealing with balancing work and family to be good at our jobs and it seems it is a common-sense amendment and i am

disappointed the majority leader would also block this amendment as well as the excellent amendment offered by my colleague. to really deal with the underlying issue of creating a better climate of opportunity for women and men throat the country. i believe this is a serious issue. but it is a serious issue that we all share the feeling on both sides of the aisle but it is more like a political ploy instead of a legitimate debate instead of a coming through the committee process to offer the amendments with the markup to make sure we are addressing the underlying issue and to me it is disappointing the senate

continues to operate in this way it is not the first time i have come to the floor or my colleagues have come to the floor with the legitimate amendment that is relevant to the bill pending and blocked by the majority leader. thank you mr. president. >> i appreciate the observation made from the senator from new hampshire through the regular order process of this was a serious discussion there be the opportunity to have the debate and the committee. you just heard a great presentation from the senator from new hampshire and nebraska they believed to have considered and debated a and voted on. substantive amendments of that address the heart of this issue.

we all understand what this is about with intention to regards to these issues to be timed to coincide with president obama democrats said making do what is not the point rather than force republicans. >> to have no intention the point isn't compromised. with regard to this. it is clearly designed as a political ploy and if we were serious there would be an open and process that

improve end strengthen the legislation and would be a better approach to create better salaries and wages i say that as a father of two adult daughters on a point to see them have every opportunity to revisions themselves to maximize the potential they have spent weeks cannot do that with policies out of washington d.c. to stifle the growth to create those opportunities but this is just to score political points rather than have a substantive debate. i yield the floor.

>> i agree with his comments from my eight colleagues in addition to others that i had an amendment i wanted to present in connection with this legislation i want to identify reasons that is relevant in germane to the legislation at hand. unfortunately majority leader soph it to object refused the united states senate that is supposed to be the greatest to lucrative body to consider these are in a and other amendments. we recognize the upheaval

leaves as united states senators we are entitled to have them considered because they are relevant in an interview. but also they would benefit the american people. to offer amendments to make legislation and we can make better. given the process could make a bad bill could or better that is where we have an obligation to consider the amendments. one of the reasons iran this of the first place hasted to with one of the struggles facing working families today is the struggle that moms and dads feel as they're trying to juggle the

work life balance they juggle work and hold an end kids and community and other obligations especially with young children the most precious commodity but the federal labor laws unfairly restrict the where moms and dads can use their time. that is why they were written decades ago when does demographic factors are lined much if differently than they are today with the trends operated much of friday than they do today put this all this era of law is because of the same

antiquated laws need to be updated the hourly employee that works overtime cannot take, or flextime. even if she still prefers it the boss cannot offer it without violating federal law. today a working mom or dad once if they want to get compensated by leaving early on friday to spend the afternoon with the kids that could be violating federal law. that sounds unfair but it is to their parents and everyone else. and seems an arrangement the ship to be prohibited how do we know that for sure?

because congress gave a special exemption from the law only for government employs with the work life options will bake things available. to be made available to this is a sense that they serve. in the of last year the house of representatives responded to the deficit in existing federal law by passing the working families flexibility act. to equalizes the rules i introduce companion legislation in the us senate today and would like to

offer an amendment modeled on the same legislation to end the flextime discrimination. against private sector workers. for any working mom or dad they will say they need more time. but we can legislate another hour in the day. but mathematically it will not working in dewitt would do not -- would cut to any good but we can help them better balance the demands that they face of family and work we could ease some of the pressure to remove the unnecessary and outdated and

unfair federal restriction to use, in the private sector. there are real problems in this world mr. president. that must be prohibited by federal law. but the fact working parents would prefer quite understandably to spend more time to is not something that needs to be prohibited we should allow to continue to be prohibited is not that is specially with an unfair discriminatory fashion. it is to the detriment of

american bases stop punishing monsanto adds that covering employees are able to receive zero comp time and flextime the united states of america deserves to have amendments like this that would make our laws less intrusive or repressive to lead to the development of the of warfare justin economy we cannot get there if we're not allowed to debate and discuss and vote and consider much less pass amendments then to restore the senate to the world's greatest deliberative live body and that cannot happen when amendments like this are categorically blocked from consideration.

we must do better. we can and we must and we will. been synecdoche to continue

to use then the people who have no real world experience come and go real hardship of no real difficulty or success outside of politics you will get the same results. the outhouse is why we need a constitutional convention of term limits. the other thing it will open up seats for a lot more people who have real world experience to be competitive. but that is only one part of what you can do. you lot to fix it again washington today. i will spend 16 years if congress i am disappointed every day of the lack of foresight and judgment and long-term thinking and the lack of critical decision making federal curse sometimes.

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this. >> the finance committee will come to order just one week to go for the deadline to file tax is dead millions of americans spent a good portion struggle to fill the tax forms to you dig through piles of receipts and a painful the age-old ritual the complexity of the tax code creates an environment for confusion. the congress is not blameless on this issue. that is why it is time to rewrite the tax code to make filing taxes easier in america nothing will have a bigger impact on the pocketbook all year long. the great majority of

americans want to get a right and so overgrown nearly 80 million americans pay for health of preparing tax returns. especially alarming most of those paid tax return preparers don't have to meet any standards for competence earlier this year because of the outcome for the federal appeals court case the protection for american taxpayers as taken a significant turn. as so often is the case with the most vulnerable people in america will bear the brunt of this decision. these are people who are struggling paycheck to paycheck counting the days

until the refund comes through to help them make ends meet. seniors are working families with the earned income tax credit for immigrants proud to pay taxes just want to make sure they follow the rules of the tax code it is hard for anybody to understand. for the second time in 80 years is heston the independent inquiry much of the industry is harming to many citizens. it could be a miscalculation on the form or it could be much worse. some just skip the blind that shows and did the work that after the taxpayer the

use they falsified that mass to boost the refund to sign their refund then pockets the difference than once they find out what happens the taxpayer is on the hook when the irs finds out. witnesses today we'll share some stories and real eager to get their thoughts on what the government can do to come up with some sensible policies. to restore standards my home state gets this right. change the landscape in order to maintain their licenses the diego took of and get the system a couple years ago looking at the tax returns were 72% from the rest of the country they

wrap their mercy of an unscrupulous prepares to reduce the risk of thought it. there are ways for congress to help. i strongly believe comprehensive tax reform it that make filing that much easier. practically every senator here to have more certainty of their taxes i work with senators as well as former senators to make filing quicker and more simple for millions of taxpayers' by tripling the standard deduction to eliminate the need for more than 80 percent of taxpayers itemized deductions then they could prepare their own return can never fall

restitute tax preparers or misconduct. senator olson has led the charge to protect from identity theft and senator cardin has also fought very hard for rights. they have ideas how to solve the challenge to look at a variety of approaches to protect the integrity. as long as the code is so complicated most americans have to seek help to file they should not worry about crooked or incompetent prepares. it is that simple. i would like to thank both panels of witnesses for being here today. senator hatch and i plan to work on this issue senator hatch we both of your comments.

>> the day for individuals to complete the tax return is one week away and they face a number of difficulties but the sheer complexity of the tax system is to have the paid preparer in order to navigate and confined with the tax code. with the tax return near the 80 million or 56 percent are prepared by a pate prepare. it relies on good faith voluntary compliance which in turn lead services that are competent. hand for the first time to have competency standards

for compensation. the d.c. circuit court of appeals prevented the irs from enforcing those regulations although that is on appeal as mentioned. some of those incompetent preparers that we will hear about part of the problem is government regulation but there are other approaches. of our comprehensive reform results in a much simpler straightforward tax system with few were compliancy administrative burdens. allows for some full compliance rules and less errors. serve the those associated with complex and a to eliminate opportunities through unethical behavior. it is by believe the best way to protect from

unethical tax preparers is to implement the fair and simple tax system on the paid return. we need to minimize the damage and a look forward to lick your ideas -- and looking forward to your id is. but there matters that deserve attention such as the ongoing investigation into the ira's targeting of consumer groups 2010 and 2012 campaign season or the congressional committees that are looking into this matter that officials have been cooperating so it was disheartening to hear that two weeks ago the commissioner apparently claimed no one has used the

word targeting to describe what had happened. with the treasury inspector general use the word targeting to describe the allegations to testify before congress that the allegations had proven to be true. furthermore the commissioner described the activities as targeting before this committee. i appreciate you being here today spinet this may save we engage in semantics but the words are important if the administration in acknowledges to engage the workplace to have difficulties as we resolve these issues. even the "washington post" fact checker said it is

silly to deny the phrase targeting and he was awarded three pinocchio's for saying otherwise. i'm talking about the proposed regulations of the 501c4. they have rightly condemned with the undermine free speech to participate in the political process. the i.r.a. has had a record number of comments on the political spectrum and from what i gather there were almost uniformly a negative. given the force of law of lead categorize a number of routine activities that the critics remain on the

sidelines of the political debate and that could work both ways. this proposal is disturbing it to publicly state the regulations to be is not good enough. fish to go away entirely from the public debate little has been said with the thought of regulation but as is concerned by the recent appearance the irs commissioner has the authority to unilaterally stop these from taking effect. but any effort to deflect that would appear to be few tile. we have a number of issues to discuss.

thank you for this. >> hour hearing consists of two panels that have two government witnesses from the irs the second from the gao and a cross section of individuals who are knowledgeable about tax preparation. we have eight witnesses we hope you all live it your testimony at five minutes. the first witness is the commissioner of the irs the second is the national taxpayer advocate. think you for coming. and why don't you start? >> thank you for the opportunity to discuss the regulation it is a key ally in our efforts of taxpayer service with 80 million

dutch returns with 86 percent of tax returns filed to make it easier to help clients properly report taxes at the same time it has traditionally been under even at best. cpas must meet competency requirements of the tax preparers that leaves another 60 percent preparing returns, although a few states have begun with the tax committee favors federal oversight of a patchwork while they are competent to operate with the highest in birds and others have enough

training and not equipped to do an adequate job. that the initiative in 2010 if they register all or substantial portion of any federal tax return or a refund claim for compensation. the initiative also required prepares to pass a competency exam and continuing education requirements to all paid preparers allows us to discipline tax preparers who engage in disreputable conduct.

as of last month the price willis 677,000 prepares were active in the database. they must use their ptin on the returns and a mystery to them in italy. along with regulation the irs has the compliance and enforcement strategy to note that the registration requirement to give insight into the community it helps to analyze trends in not anomalies that announces the testing phase of the test was formed preparation and a schedule and about 62%

passed with the pass rate of 74% so 26 percent were not able to pass the exam. lawsuits against the return with the tester requirements of 2013 the irs it is true that prepare registration alone but competency testing may put this on a pass to ensure that all tax return prepares have the appropriate level of service

and that will translate into compliance and certainly with that therefore we ask the proposal that would explicitly to regulate all prepares that would allow us to resume mandatory testing and continuing education. with the interim step of voluntary continuing education with those stakeholders' of the interim step would be useful in the proper it but for congress to grant explicit authority. this concludes my testimony would be happy to take your questions. >> missiles and? remain chairman, ranking member and members of the committee thank you for holding today's hearing on the subject i consider among the most important for u.s.

taxpayers. nearly 150 million individuals file tax returns every year many jointly because the tax code is complex the significant amount pay prepares to complete their returns. but in recent years they receive a tax refunds the average refund amount is under $3,000 per return to work it does could have a significant financial impact in the taxpayer. but they're widely regulated but anyone can hang out a shingle with no skill or experience required.

i began my career in tax administration when i myself hung out the shingle as the un and will prepare but at that time there is no widely available preparation software packages. i had no choice but to study and learn, rules and regulations and publications. but taxpayers had some assurance of the competency so there is no such assurance. so in the return preparation field the absence has eliminated barriers to entry into the profession and the enactment of refundable credits expand the taxpayer base to include individuals. so to inflate refunds it is

difficult with the service offered in the act of tax preparation. as a result of the changes the of the industry as national taxpayer advocate in 2002 recommended in a register ran test and certify the prepares i also strengthen due diligence requirements but there is no distinction between these approaches. as a vital component of any oversight these actions occur only after the taxpayer has been harmed prevention is less costly and more effective. congress has the ability to establish minimum standards and with continuing education.

the cost will ultimately be passed on to the consumer. but what it was implemented before the decision seemed reasonable as compared with a far more significant cost solfeggio and others that it would cause them to overpay by thousands of dollars and others to underpaid by thousands and then face the enforcement action down the road in the absence of clear legislative authority i believe the i.r.a. should do the following we should give them a volunteer examination in certificate to restrict the ability to put that on the of richer as they

prepare and this they earn a certificate. consumer protection campaign that educates about the need to select prepares to can demonstrate competency is and reminded taxpayers to obtain a copy of their tax return with the signature on its. the irs should search with of repairs with the irs. after all the best and enforcement of consumer protection strategy is a consumer base like taxpayers to need to have a clear-cut way which meet minimum levels of competency in which make the effort. that is why to have a mandatory certified designation is so important it is the bright line the taxpayers can understand. think you.

>>. >> let me start with you. you are the national taxpayer advocate. it is your job to go to bat for the people that we see are fleeced around the country. i would like you to amplify. you say there are new incentives and new opportunities for the unscrupulous tax preparer to rip people off. could you describe that in more detail? >> one is the entities that would not normally be involved use the ability to give loans on the refund itself with cross market goods. but at a very high interest-rate just the loan

product itself like a paste of blown the rest is fraud were as described in your statement they will take the taxpayers' return or has not approved it they will in fleet items and pocket the refund then the taxpayer later finds out menderes contacts and to say you owe us in that drives them to be engaged in along confrontation with the irs by then the prepare is long gone you cannot find them. >> i appreciate you to clarify that because i didn't think the us dash -- standards were adequate even empty for the problems you were talking about and i appreciate your demonstrator -- that the unscrupulous are one or two steps ahead of the efforts particular of the voluntary to deal with

the problem. i gather so we are clear the loving decision has created new problems in terms of protecting taxpayers? >> absolutely. the decision first of all, my reading of it it did not go to whether a regulation was desirable but if it had the authority to regulate under current law and right now there is an injunction to implement the exam and the continuing education requirement that is a significant obstacle we can register tax preparers but we cannot require them to be tested or taking an exam. >> how limited our the tools federal left with the decision? it is my since there are some tools that are left but they are narrow and don't go to the heart of what you

talk about which is protection against the unscrupulous. i hear there are many if not the majority who are very honest and reputable but it looks like the new opportunity for the trap door has been created. . .