amendment and the right of free speech, and i made a vow like many in the senate and the house to keep pushing the administration until we understand the irs' recent just this tuesday, i took the opportunity to question the new commissioner of the irs. beyond any shadow of doubt, let there be no shadow of doubt, the irs has been targeting conservative groups during the exemption application process. it looks like it is doing this even as i speak. yesterday's action by the ways and means committee really confirms this. kudos to the ways and means committee for the dedication to get to the bottom of this mess. what is going on is a deliberate abuse of federal enforcement

powers for purely political purposes. part of a larger pattern of this administration using the irs to shut down its critics and opponents and to change the outcome of elections. when i go back home to the town hall meetings or when people come to my office, they will bring up the number 1, 2, 3 issues they are concerned about. there is always somebody in the back that says, wait a minute, what about my free speech rights? why can't congress get to the bottom of this? that takes a rather lengthy explanation. there are those of us that are committed to do that. that is why they are frustrated, concerned, angry. that is why they think the america they have grown up in and appreciated and they want to leap to their kids and grandkids, the very fact they can't get up and say what is on their mind or take part in the political process, is in danger. has been in danger.

this is an attack. that is just the way we have to put it. it is an attack on the first amendment rights of our citizens just because they dared to differ from this administration. i can't think of anything more reprehensible. certainly i am not going to stand idly by when the administration tries to dodge and weave its way out of this. lately the commissioner, the new been a littlehas crafty with his remarks. he made these remarks last tuesday. sort of a verbal somersault to downgrade the problem. whetherically asked him he would put a stop to the regulations he has been detailed to implement, the regulations that would enshrine the stifling of free speech, at least until we are done in the ways and means committee and at least

until we are done in the finance committee and also the government affairs committee in the house. rate, he dodged, he ducked, he told us several times not to worry. these revelations -- regulations won't be finalized until after the election. until after the election. quotehat doesn't put a around it and several outer lines with regards to this being political, i don't know what will. i am not sure that is what he wanted to say. by telling me not to worry, he made it even clearer that the irs's actions are designed to control the battle space of the elections this coming fall. them to keep ducking and dodging. we have 40 cosponsors.

to stop the irs from proceeding with new rules until we have answers, until we have finished our investigation. i vow to put a stop to these regulations so that we can preserve the rights of all citizens and groups to engage in the political process. then i deviated from my prepared remarks and i asked the new commissioner, there is a fox in the chicken coop. you know what foxes do in chicken coops. denying the only right of free speech to the chickens, but they are taking away a lot of other things as well. what you are telling me is, don't worry about it. we have investigations to determine how the fox got into the chicken coop, who put the fox in the chicken coop, more importantly, how do we get the

damn fox out of the chicken coop? he indicated not to worry. we will have those answers down the road. i said, can i have your commitment that you will wait until the end of these investigations? he should deal with it anyway just on the merits of the case. he would not give me that commitment. he kept dodging around the issue. i said, get a fox out of the damn chicken coop. determine who put the fox in and take that person and hold them accountable. or else we have a very damaging situation in this country. i can't tell you how much this affects people in terms of their free-speech. thinks,y automatically it is free speech, first amendment, broadcasters, etc. it is everybody. groupright, middle, any

that wants to express themselves in the political process. it is absolutely fundamental and basic to our rights. jeff and i are determined to do that. we got 40 sponsors. we are working on it. if we ever get to a vote, we could pass it in the senate. we are not giving up. i appreciate being here. thank you. >> senator roberts from kansas. he makes the point that this administration doesn't have a lot of interest in the first amendment, but they are reasonably conversant with the fifth amendment and seem to understand that one if not all the others. the obama administration started off by saying, that he was outraged at the abuses in the irs and he wasn't going to tolerate it. then he turned around and decided he wasn't outraged anymore.

he wanted to codify into law a number of those outrages so that they would be legal to do in the future. 150,000 americans sent in comments on those proposed irs regulations. the folks from the administration have pointed out that they got more comments on this irs attack on the first amendment than all the other proposed regulations going years into the past added together. i think that is very interesting. i would have thought, most irs regulations are about taking more or less of people's money and more or less of their time. i would have thought that would have engendered many comments. it is a very healthy sign that people got more exercised at the irs for going after their

free-speech rights, their freedom, then their money. thought was extremely powerful statement by the american people as to what this is about and what is their first priority. freedom more even than money taken out of their pockets. we are now joined by katie mccullough to talk about what is withning on efforts americans for tax reform. hi, i am katie mccullough, executive director of digital liberty for americans for tax reform. i want to point to a narrower area of tax policies. when you look at taxing the internet, one of the things that people don't know is that there is legislation that prevents states from taxing access to internet. just basic getting online. introducedegislation to prevent states from doing that. before the legislation was introduced, there were a few

states that had already taxed to the internet. that has been reauthorized for a number of years. we now have two bills, house and senate, the permanent internet tax freedom forever act. we also have the internet tax freedom forever act sponsored by widen and soon. that would prevent taxes on internet access at anytime anywhere and would not allow states to continue doing such things. that is great for our economy. it also prevents states from taxing sales that occur online differently from sales, traditional market sales. they could not be taxed higher than your regular sales tax. iss kind of legislation important to keep our tax code consistent. unless people have access to one of our greatest areas of economic growth, taxing people's

ability to get the jobs, to get to education, to further themselves in the way that we think is valuable. thank you. >> thank you, katie mcauliffe with digital liberty. we are now joined by the senator from kentucky, rand paul. >> i am glad to the here to discuss the problems we have an associate myself with americans for tax reform. for 20 years in kentucky i ran a group called kentucky taxpayers united. we were associated with the projects and policies of americans for tax reform. we supported the taxpayer pledge in kentucky as well as supporting a nationally. the thing we need to remember about taxes is that we need to think about how taxes prevent us from creating jobs.

right now we have a tax code that scares jobs overseas. everybody laments jobs going overseas but if you want jobs to stay at home, you need to make money more welcome here. money leaves and goes to where it is welcome. we have a corporate income tax of 35%. canada's is 15%. we wonder why people are going overseas. we have $2 trillion worth of that americant companies have gained overseas. it is not coming home at 35%. we have a bill to bring it home at 5%. jobs can created by reducing taxes. we don't want revenue-neutral tax reform. burden to lower the tax to compete with the rest of the world. we have talked about economic freedom zones where we lower taxes dramatically in economically depressed areas. you want to fix poverty, lower taxes. i am glad to be here to

associate myself with americans for tax reform and for their push for reasonable taxes to help us create more jobs in this country. thank you. >> before the senate, he was the leader of the kentucky taxpayer movement. tea party before tea party. we are now joined by senator rob portman from ohio who serves on the finance committee. >> i am delighted to be here today to support what atr is doing. ohio,n my home state of what they are going nationally to ensure we have a rational tax policy. we are not seeing that now. the president has already raised taxes $1.6 trillion. he would like to rate them another $1.3 trillion. i hope people see that we have got an administration that would like to raise taxes but what they are at a time of a

historically weak recovery, an economy that is faltering, yet they want to tax people more. going toge family is pay about $25,000 in taxes this year. that is already too high for my yet they want to make it higher. the argument is made that we are somehow undertaxed. that is not true. one thing atr has done well is to lay out the historical perspective. even without the tax increases that the president and democrats are proposing, the taxes and the burden on the economy is going to increase. we need to raise taxes to reduce the deficit and the debt. the problem is spending. we are spending too much. until we get spending under control, we are not going to be able to solve this problem. taxes have gone up enough. taxes make it harder to create a job. taxes are going to make it harder for us to get this economy on track.

we have to focus on the problem which is spending. i am for tax reform. we know that we can have a better tax system in this country. this, thatre we do we are not doing just the opposite, making it harder to get america back on track. thank you all for being here today. thanks for making these points. thanks for ensuring that people know that america is not undertaxed. we are spending too much. we have to to get that under control first. >> senator, thank you very much. when you talk about tax reform as a number of the senators have legs, threethree sides to a triangle of actual tax reform. the first is to take rates down. we are at 35% for corporate business tax rate.

canada is at 15%. the european average is 25%. we need to take those rates down. it is not good enough to go to 25%. the average in europe is 25%. 4.8% orlly have about 5% state corporate income taxes as well. when you talk about american taxes on businesses, on average, it is a lot more. it is on average 40%. atare competing with canada 15% and europe with an average of 25%. taking that breakdown is important. maybe 1000e have pages of how we handle issues in terms of depreciation schedules. expensing sown to that when you spend money to buy

a piece of equipment, you expense it that year, not depreciated over many. the third is, what was just referenced by rob portman and by rand paul. that is going to a territorial system. andt now, the united states north korea and not many other people have a worldwide tax system. if you earn money in france, we tax you on top of what the french did. if you are french, the french will lead you alone. we take some, you can take it back to france. that encourages repatriation. we discourage repatriation in the united states. we are now joined by one of the leaders in the fight for tax reform. whoesentative kevin brady is on the ways and means committee. >> thank you, grover. thanks very much for your leadership on limiting the size of the government, growing the economy and creating a progrowth

tax code. the biggest problem facing our country is a federal government living beyond its means. spending cuts can get us halfway back to a balanced budget. to finish the job, start paying down our national debt, we need a much stronger economy. right now our broken tax code is a real drag on america's economy. it is too costly, too complex. mainly it is too unfair. it is unfair to families, to businesses, unfair to america. we are no longer competitive around the world. we need the tax code that is simpler, fairer, flatter, that protects taxpayers not special interest. the ways and means committee has laid out for the first time in 30 years a top to bottom rewrite, a discussion draft on progrowth tax. it has some strong topline numbers, increasing economic trillion,more than $3

creating almost 2 million new jobs. simplifying the code by about a quarter and allowing more than nine out of 10 americans to file their taxes on the front and back of a piece of paper. it is a good, solid start. more can be done. the reason it was laid out is the discussion draft is that every point along the way, we ought to make it more progrowth. right now because of this draft we are having deeper discussions on tax reform than in the years i have been in congress. it is long overdue. i am a strong supporter of lowering rates for individuals and families. i am a strong supporter of cost recovery as well. it is important we get to all of these elements. i will conclude with this, you have never had a truly love/hate relationship until you have done tax reform. there is parts of that draft that i love and parts of that draft that i hate.

that is probably the case for everybody who is you're working on it or looking at it. that is the point of tax reform, to have that discussion. those who assembled the affordable care act in secrecy, passed it through congress with virtually no one knowing what was in it, we took the opposite approach. draft for discussion all of america to see and analyze. determine what is right and what is wrong and help us shape the future. we have taken the most important step in 30 years. we are going to work hard to advance tax reform. we are hopeful that sometime in the future the senate will join us and ultimately the president. whether they do or not, we are going to advance progrowth tax reform. grover, thank you again for your leadership on all these issues. >> the safeway to vote, whatever they are asking. thank you.

we have talked about tax reform. we have talked about extenders, , bureaucrats irs and political appointees at the irs who brought the ethics of chicago to the irs where they do not belong. they don't belong in chicago either. but you can leave chicago, you can't leave the irs. those ethics need to stay far far away from the internal revenue service and the laws that we all live in. i would like to point out that while we are having this discussion in washington dc, there is a discussion going on in the 50 states. ,hen you look at the states while there is gridlock in washington because you have a republican house which wants to reform taxes, the democrats are on the senate and iran into

fromsenator kerry massachusetts when they were doing the big discussion about getting a tax increase as part of the budget deal in 2011-2012. he said, here is what we need to fix the $1.2 trillion hole. he wanted 1.420 and dollars in higher taxes. -- $1.4 trillion in higher taxes. they got no tax increase, all spending restraint. the sequester holding against tax increases that year. every time the administration or the democrats in the senate discussed tax reform, the first thing they want is $1.2 trillion trip4 troy and dollar -- $1.4 trillion. as part of tax reform. you can't have tax reform if you

are just going to be massive tax increase. we have good luck on taxation. at the state level, we have the opposite. red states onthe this map, you have a republican governor, republican house, republican senate. they can cut taxes and virtually every one of those states has. there are 13 states where you have a democratic governor, democratic house, democratic senate. they can agree to raise taxes and they have. at the state level, the we are having a test. just like they tell us in grade school about the democracy. you have an experiment between the 50 states to see what works and what doesn't. half the country's population lives in a red state with a republican house, senate and governor. one quarter of the country's population lives in the blue states run by democrats. because of distracting and the

way things are structured, the red states stay red for a decade and the blue states stay blue for a decade. long driftg to see a in one direction in red states with lower taxes and less spending and a long drift in the other states with an experiment going the other way. we are going to see a very interesting challenge. we have launched a project called 50 in 2050. our goal is to abolish state income tax in all 50 states by 2050. we have to elect different governors and different legislatures. we can already see a number of states. kansas and north carolina have begun that process. announced, we are going to go to zero. louisiana has multiple efforts to go to zero. nebraska has made

the same statement. i think you are going to see a number of states follow the eight states now that have no state income tax and one that has almost no state income tax, that is tennessee. there is a movement there which i will -- only will succeed to phase out that tax so that tennessee will be the ninth state to have ended all state income taxes. i don't think at the end of the day telephone you and new york can continue to have the high when more rates states closer to them are going towards zero at the state level. uph that, i will close today's press conference. i will take any questions people have now. i will also be available afterwards if you want to have a separate conversation.

>> can you talk about the implications of obamacare on this year's taxes and also next year? is this year is going to hit wealthier americans. >> americans for tax reform has put out several lists of the 20 different tax increases in obamacare. they phase in overtime. you're seeing organized labor very unhappy at the taxes they're going to have. expensive insurance funds are going to be taxed. that is not something the labor unions wanted to see happen. it was an idea that mccain had one point endorsed. they spent $2 million trashing the report in 2008 and then they put it in obamacare. hikes,re a series of tax everything from the tanning tax

to a tax on medical devices. any medical devices including in some cases wheelchairs -- how you reduce the cost of health care -- one of the things we were promised was that people who didn't have insurance would get insurance and everybody's health insurance would drop by $2500. it has now gone up. part of it is that we tax health insurance plans now. we are taxing not-for-profit hospitals under obamacare. stuff thatng the goes in. how does that make it less expensive? there are a whole series of those tax increases. they are not just on the rich. 20 would onlye qualify as having high income people. if you have health insurance, you are paying that tax. if you don't have health insurance, you are paying a tax.

if you have health care, you are paying a tax. regardless of how high or low your income is. everybody and all parts of health care. it is a rather massive tax increase inside what we all thought was all about reducing the cost of health care. as far as the lowest murder referral, what do you think the referral,is lerner what do you think the likelihood is? >> i have complete faith in my government following the law. holding itself to the same standard that it would like everyone else held to. yes. >> do you think the irs scandal is worse than watergate? watergate, they broke into

the democratic headquarters and stole some stuff. you are not supposed to do that. the irs is certainly affecting that were justs minding their own business. both were attempts at corrupting the political process and using the power -- actually watergate hired burglars to steal stuff. they didn't use the government. i am old enough to run member watergate. it has been a while. they hired some guys who broke in and stole some stuff, criminals. they didn't use the marines or the irs. they did the proper thing. if you want to be a criminal, you hire criminals. what you don't do is criminalize the government. that is what appears to have happened with the irs. people working for the american people, paid for with tax

dollars, abusing that power for political purposes. senator pat roberts from kansas said, we are going to put off making this decision until after the election. sending up a flare that this is a political decision. not even after november, after the election. it is worse because it is the corruption of much of the government. many people were involved. not one guy telling some bad guys to do something. i hope the prison sentences are at least as long. last questions? thank you very much. grover norquist with americans for tax reform. assumingee you again the present income tax is largely in place a year from now. take care. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius will

resign from president obama's cabinet on friday. the hill writing that the president intends to replace kathleen sebelius with sylvia burwell who is now director of the office of management and budget. they say heard a partner comes two weeks after the end of obamacare's first enrollment period. the administration exceeding its original target of enrolling 7 million people after that troubled launch to healthcare.gov. kathleen sebelius resigning as health and human services secretary. we are asking for your thoughts on facebook and twitter about the resignation of kathleen sebelius. thomas says -- your thoughts at facebook.com/cspan and also on twitter. in austin, texas, president obama deliver remarks at the lyndon b. johnson library

commemorating the 50th anniversary of the civil rights act. president lyndon johnson signed the act into law on july 2, 1964. congressman john lewis and the director of the lbj library gave introductory remarks. we will show those comments to you tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. the houseday, oversight committee voted 21-12 along party lines to hold former irs official lois lerner in contempt of congress. that citation now goes to the full house for consideration. here is a look at part of that committee meeting.

>> it will be a significant cost to the taxpayer and we will not be able to get to the bottom of this through this channel. it is unfortunate because i think there is a danger here when a powerful government committee works against the interests of the american people. >> the gentleman's time is expired. we now go to the gentleman from ohio. >> thank you, i yield my time to the congresswoman from wyoming. cynthia lewis. >> i thank the chairman and i thank the gentleman from ohio for yielding me his time. tois uniquely consequential a woman in a position of public trust to be in contempt of congress, to have behaved contentedly. yes, lois lerner does have the right to remain silent. a constitutionally protected

right. but lois lerner did not remain silent. her own e-mails refute and contradict her assertion before this committee that she did nothing wrong, that she violated no laws. she spoke falsehoods to this committee when she said she did nothing wrong. she spoke to the justice department without immunity. i believe she did waive her fifth amendment right. mr. chairman, it is often said the tower to tax is the power to destroy. that is why the american people must be protected from the abuse of that power. intervene on behalf of the american people. e-mailsner's own agendat her partisan

against conservative speech. that a former director of the the highestequiring level of integrity, a duty to the american people to be fair and unbiased, would conduct herself in this manner, is something worthy of this committee's consideration in this context. heroesirman, we all have and the american people have in the past looked at gangsters and thugs that were brought down by the irs because they didn't pay their taxes as the kind of people that we wanted to look up to. tax,rs using its power to to destroy the bad guys, to be the intimidators. irshis case, it is the which is the intimidator, the

protector has become the intimidator and it is our duty in this committee to protect the people from an agency that no longer protects them. is chairman, this committee appropriately exercising its authority and power and duty to protect the american taxpayer, to stand between them and the abuse of power by federal agencies. hours. duty of we must conduct our work with the highest level of integrity. that is why i appreciate the careful deliberations of this committee as to the very consequential subject. oneself onducted behalf of the internal revenue

service with such dishonor and disrespect to the very people who have entrusted you -- i am repulsed by that. beind our work today to conducted in a manner which the deserve.people mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. >> the committee went on to the 21-12 along party lines to hold former irs official lois lerner in contempt of congress. that citation now goes to the full house for consideration. you can see the entire house oversight committee meeting tonight at 8:40 eastern here on c-span or any time online at c-span.org. house today passed a republican budget resolution for fiscal year 2015 altered by budget share paul ryan.

the plan calls for a balanced budget within 10 years by making over $5 trillion in cuts and repealing the health care law. before today's final vote, republican and democratic leaders spoke about the proposal on the house floor. this is 25 minutes. rise today in support of the pro-growth budget act. right now america is not working for too many people. for years our economy has remained stagnant and job growth weak. at the current time three out of four americans report that they are living paycheck to paycheck. the ability to climb the economic ladder of success and live the american dream is becoming much more difficult for millions of people. mr. chairman, this is the status

quo in america. but it is a status quo that we must not accept. . our constituents deserve better. our constituents deserve a government that is focused on turning this economy around and making america work again. nd work again for everybody. in the house, there are some very clear differences on how to solve america's problems. my democratic colleagues believe the best way to move the country forward -- the chair: the majority leader will suspend. i'd ask members to take their conversations off the floor on the minority side in the back.

mr. cantor: my democratic colleagues believe the best way to move the country forward is ith $1.8 trillion in new tax hikes. so that this government can even spend more. that's not right and it's not fair. working americans deserve a chance to put more of their hard-earned pay checks into their personal savings accounts, to invest that or spend it on their families before they are forced to send it to washington. we house republicans have a better plan. a balanced budget that will begin to provide working families, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet, with just a little relief.

the budget before us will create jobs, it will cut wasteful spending, it will reform our tax code and hold washington more accountable. plain and simple, this budget is pro-growth, this budget is about making america work again. today members of the house have a very simple choice. we can continue the status quo, stand in the way of economic progress and new opportunities for working middle class families or we can choose to lead the american people down a path to prosperity where all americans have a chance at success. mr. chairman, passing a budget is not only an important step to restoring trust in government and faith in our economy, it is our legal

obligation to do so. the house passes a budget even when our paychecks aren't on the line. the house republicans choose to lead on this issue. we have passed a budget every year since taking the majority. so let's now stand together and fulfill one of the most important duties that we were elected to do and pass a budget that the american people that senlt us here can be proud of -- sent us here can be proud of. i want to thank the gentleman from wisconsin, the chairman of the budget committee, for his continued dedication in reining in wasteful spending and restoring fiscal responsibility nd in balancing budgets. i also want to thank the other members of the budget committee for their hard work

continuously on this issue. and i urge my colleagues to pass this budget on behalf of the american people. nd i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: mr. chairman, i yield myself four minutes. the chair: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for four minutes. the gentleman will suspend. the committee will be in order. once again, ask members to take their conversations off the floor, particularly in the back n the minority side. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. chairman. i want to start by joining the chairman of the committee and thanking both the democratic and republican staff of the budget committee for their hard work and should be mitt for the record their names -- and submit for the record their names. i'd also, mr. chairman, like to take this opportunity, it's

chairman ryan's last year as the head of the budget committee, and i do want to thank him for the professional way in which he's conducted the committee. lest he think i'm getting carried away, this is an example where process did not lead to a better product. and that's why we're here today. because unfortunately i have to report that this house republican budget is the worst of the republican budgets i've seen in the last three years for the united states of america. budgets, budgets -- mr. chairman, budgets reflect the choices we make for our country. they tell the american people what we care about and what we care less about. and at every juncture in this house republican budget they choose to protect very powerful special interests and the most wealthy in our country at the expense of everyone else and at the expense of all the other

priorities. for example, they have tax cuts that actually encourage companies to ship american jobs , not product, overseas. while our budget invests right here in the united states of america. now, we heard the republican leader say we want a better economy for everybody. the congressional budget office tells us that this republican budget will slow down economic growth right now for the next couple years. that it will reduce job growth in the next couple years. all while doing what? providing another windfall tax break to millionaires. yes, look at their budget. they want to drop the top tax rate -- the chair: the gentleman will suspend. he committee will be in order. the gentleman is recognized. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. chairman. look at their budget. they want to drop the top tax rate, 39% to 25%. full 30%.

what does that mean? $200,000 average tax break for millionaires. who finances it in their budget? well, math tells you middle income taxpayers pay more. they pay $2,000 more per average in order to finance trickledown economics, even though they we know from experience that that was a dead end for this country. and while our republican colleagues talk about fiscal responsibility, apparently they don't care enough about it to close one single special interest tax loophole to help reduce the deficit. not one. not a hedge fund owner, not a big oil company, not one. and because they say hands off the most powerful and the most privileged, their budget has to come after everybody else and it does. so it hits our kids' education, early education, k-12, college students are asked to pay more interest. in fact, they got $45 billion

savings by charging college kids more interest while they're still in college and not working. again, while hands off the powerful special interests, seniors, seniors on medicare see their prescription drug doughnut hole open. the safety net, again, sleded -- shredded and all for what purpose? now, they claim that they're going to somehow balance the budget at the end of the 10-year window. but you know what? they can't have it both ways. we have had over 50 votes here in the house of representatives from our colleagues to repeal the affordable care act. but guess what? they've got $2 trillion in this budget from revenues and savings from the affordable care act. we use some of those savings -- we use those medicare savings to strengthen medicare. i now yield the final minute to

the distinguished democratic leader who has been a fighter for america's priorities, nancy pelosi. leader pelosi. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. thank you, mr. speaker, for the recognition. i congratulate the budget committee for the hard work that you have done. i wish we had more than 10 minutes on each side to discuss the house democratic budget. but so it is. here we are about to leave for the holy season of easter and passover. it reminds me of the gospel of it says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. this budget is a statement as to where our treasure is and where our hearts are for the american people. a budget, as our distinguished ranking member said, must be a statement of our national values. what is important to us as a nation should be reflected in

our spending priorities, in our treasure. but you be the judge, i want to say to the american people, but the speaker will not allow me to address the american people, so their representatives here. is it a statement of your national values, of our country, to give a $200,000 tax break to people making over $1 million a year at the expense f increasing taxes of $2,000 to the middle class, is that a statement of our values? i didn't think so. is a statement of our values in order to finance the special interest privilege that is in the republican budget, is a statement of your values to cut over $17 -- 170,000 children from head start? is that a statement of our values? children learning, parents earning, opportunity, fairness. is it a statement of your values to support a budget that says 3 1/2 million children in

our country, disadvantaged children and economically disadvantaged areas, will have cuts in the budget of title one, is that a statement of our values in order to get tax breaks to big oil? is it a statement of our values to say to aspiring families, some the first in their families to be able to go to college, that we're going to cut over half a million, maybe over 600,000 kids from head start? is that a statement of values that to say to over a half a million young people, you will not have opportunity to have a higher education, instead we're going to give that same amount of money to big oil for tax incentives, for them to drill, is that a statement of our values? i don't think so. i don't think so. so where is their treasure and where is their heart? the treasure in this republican budget is just what our ranking member said. it's with the special interests and the wealthiest people in our country. it is a trickledown approach

that has never worked. it's worked for the rich. it's worked for the special interests. and their supporters. but it has not worked for the great middle clals. do we need any -- class. do we need any more evidence of it not working, that these same warmed-over policies that existed in the bush era, that took us to the great recession, a great recession where we met right before the election, in september of 2008, where the chairman of the fed said to us, if we do not act immediately we will not have an economy by monday, this is a thursday night, that's where these policies took us. at the end of the bush years. and we're still digging out of that recession. and instead of having a budget that lifts us up to create jobs, to create growth, to invest in science and education, to keep america number one, they call their budget a path to prosperity, it

is a road to recession, it always has been and that is what it is now. and that is what it is now. so at least we have a few minutes to discuss our value system, where our treasure is, with the richest and the special interests, or with the great middle class and those who aspire to it. and therefore where our heart is in terms of budget priorities in this budget. and this is an important budget. some people want to dismiss it as a joke because it's so outrageous. it's debtly serious. it isn't funny at all -- deadly serious. it isn't funny at all because of the impact it has on the lives of america's families. our children, our seniors, voucherizing medicare, removing the guarantee of medicare for our seniors. is that a statement of our values to say to our seniors, you are on your own? you are on your own. don't think so.

so our heart is with the middle class, we will put our treasure there. with investments in education, job creation, investments in science. i'll just close, again, i started with the bible, scientific research gives us an almost biblical power to cure. where there is scientific opportunity, we almost have a moral responsibility, certainly a moral imperative to invest in it. to improve health, to improve the quality of health in our country. and to make sure that everybody has access to it. but don't worry about the access to it, because our investments, our investments in basic scientific research are seriously impaired by this budget. it does violence to any concept of science that keeps innovation making america number one, advancing innovation, investments in

science and technology, undermining investments in how we protect our environment so our children can breathe clean air and drink clean water, about how we protect our america by investments in science and technology to do so and the intelligence to avoid conflict, to avoid conflict. and the investments in job creation that science will enable us to do. so if you believe in knowledge, if you believe in fact, if you believe in the middle class you must reject the republican budget. you must reject the republican budget. what the republican leadership is asking members to do is something that i don't know that they share that value. certainly republicans across the country do not. republicans across the country support education, investments in sigh epidemics, and the rest. any poll will show you that.

just one other thing. if you really want to reduce the deficit, one of the fastest ways to do it is have a budget as our does, includes comprehensive immigration reform which reduces the deficit by $900 million, $900 with a b, billion according to the congressional budget office. so by reason of treasure, by reason of heart, by reason of values, by reason of ethics, by reason of honoring our responsibility to the american people, a good strong no on the ryan republican budget. it's a path to ruin. it is not a path to prosperity. mr. van hollen's budget is a budget of -- about of growth, keeping america number one, strengthening the middle class which is the backbone of our democracy. thank you-all. ote no on this budget.

the chair: the time of the gentlelady has expired. he committee will be in order. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: i yield myself the balance of the time. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. ryan: let me start of by saying you have presided over this budget for many years. you have set a great example for the rest of us. this is your last year serving, and i want to thank you for what you have done for this institution. thank you for setting a great example. i ask unanimous consent that

that applause did not take out of my time. the chair: without objection, so ordered. mr. ryan: mr. chairman, what this debate comes down to is a he question of trust. we have offered a budget because we trust the american people. unlike the senate democrats who once again have punted, chosen not to even offer a budget this year, we trust the people to make an honest assessment. we trust them to make the right choice for their future. now to their credit the house democrats have offered budgets as well. the problem is they put their trust in washington. every time you hear this word investment, just know what that means. take from hardworking taxpayers, borrow more money from our next

generation, from other countries, spend it in washington. time and again they are proposing to put government in the driver's seat. they have already engineered to take over our entire health care sector. they are overregulating our energy sector. they are depriving us of jobs. they won't even give us the keystone pipeline. they are proposing yet new taxes. another $1.8 trillion tax increase. they are proposing more cronyism. they are proposing more control for washington, less control of our communities, less control over our businesses, less control over our lives. less control over our futures. in my respectful opinion it is a vision that is both paternalistic, arrogant, and down right condesending.

you know, big government in theory, it sounds compelling. in practice it's totally different. remember if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. remember, if you like your health care plan you can keep your health care plan. or remember, if government just takes over this sector, it will lower your costs. big government in practice is so different than the theory. the results have nothing to do with the rhetoric. we, on the other hand, trust the eople. we are offering a balanced budget that pays down the debt. we are offering patient centered solutions. we are offering patient centered solutions so patients are the nucleus of the health care system, not the government. we are offering a plan to save

medicare now and for future generations. we are offering a stronger safety net with state flexibility to help meet people's needs and to help people get from welfare to work to make the most of their lives. we are offering pro-growth tax code. we are offering more energy jobs. you can boil the differences down to one question -- who knows better? the people or washington. we have made our choice with this budget. i trust the american people to make theirs. mr. chairman, let's call the vote. >> there is news tonight that health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius is

resigning. president obama will announce tomorrow that sylvia burwell who is currently white house budget director will replace her. kathleen sebelius has been head of hhs since president obama took >> we are asking for your thoughts on the resignation at facebook. >> president obama was in texas today at the lbj library to mark the anniversary of signing the civil rights act. this is next on c-span. the house oversight committee votes to hold lois lerner in contempt of congress. the house approved a republican budget plan and we will have some of that debate later. >> the number of electors is 538

. the majority is 270. george bush has received 271 votes. al gore has received 266 votes. the state of the vote for vice president of the united is as follows. the whole number of elect words 538.ectors is dick cheney has received 271 votes. joseph lieberman of the state of connecticut has received 266 votes. vote byouncement of the the president of the senate shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons

elected for the term beginning on the 20th day of 2001 and in the journals of the senate and the house of representatives. may god bless our new president and vice president. may god bless the united states of america. highlights from 35 years on our facebook page. c-span is created by american e companies and brought to you as a service by your local cable or satellite provider. >> barack obama was in texas on thend had remarks 50th anniversary of the civil rights act at the lbj library in austin. president johnson signed the civil rights act into law in 1964.

. againste who fought racial injustice, those words have a special meaning. from alabama to the state capital. ch was worded in a day of infamy that became known as luddy -- bloody sunday.

president johnson did not let a crisis go to waste. he used it to propose the voting rights act. before congress, he said it was all of us , he sought dr. king cry for the first time. we will march from selma to montgomery. dr. king and mr. lewis made a

march to montgomery and president johnson passed the voting rights act. cripplingcome the legacy of bigotry and injustice, it is because of the courage and fortitude of lyndon johnson, martin luther king, john lewis. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming john lewis. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you.

friends, my sisters , i have a special honor to introduce the keynote speaker for the 50th anniversary celebration of the civil rights act of 1964. appropriateting and that barack obama would join us ofay to honor the legacy lyndon johnson. was born in a dangerous time in american history. it is a time when people were arrested and taken to jail for sitting beside each other on a bus. it was against the law for black and white people to ride in the

or stay in the same hotel. and lives wereed threatened for taking a drink at a water fountain or sharing a restaurant once counter. -- lunch counter. there were signs everywhere that said white and colored. order onsed an unholy the lives of americans. president johnson used his political power and the force of his will to pass the civil rights act of 1964 and the of 1965.ghts act all of those signs came down and you will not see those signs and our children will not see those signs, except in a museum, a

book, or a video. president lyndon johnson, from people and ated a from the inhumanity of legalized segregation. [applause] without the leadership of theident lyndon johnson and involvement of hundreds of thousands and millions of people in the civil rights movement, there would be no jimmy carter, no bill clinton, no barack obama . lyndon johnson used his skills empower to make it possible. when people say that nothing has changed, i say come and walk in

my shoes and i can show you the change. [applause] when barack obama walked through the doors of the white house, he issued -- ushered in a time of great hope. deep aspirations. , we felt that we may have finally realized the vision that president johnson had for all of us to live the idea of lemonade injustice from our beloved country. we use the liberty that we gain from his legacy to elect a man with courage and tenacity to do all he could to make our society a better place and move us closer to the middle of communities.

president, man, this barack obama. nationgress is made as a . he understands that there is more work to do to redeem the soul of america. that is why, as president, he has brought about meaningful change in america for ending two wars and passing opera hands of health-care reform. that is the perspective of this president. [applause] my dear friends, it is my great honor and pressure test pleasure to present barack

obama and the first lady. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. lease, please, have a seat. thank you. thank you very much. please, please,. . what a singular honor it is for me to be here today. i want to thank the johnson family for giving us this graciousnessnd the

with which michelle and i were received. we came down a little bit late because we were upstairs and looking at some of the exhibits, the private offices that were used by president johnson. obama was interested in a recording in which lady bird johnson is critiquing president johnson's performance. she said, "you need to listen to this." she pressed the button and nodded her head. some things do not change, even 50 years later. congress, the the electedtice, officials and community leaders,

i want to thank you. his secondnto presidency, the night before he would address a joint session of the congress in which he once table, lbj sat around a with his closest advisers to prepare his remarks were a shattered and grieving nation. he wanted to call on senators and representatives to pass a civil rights bill. the most sweeping since reconstruction. most of his staff counseled him against it. they said it was hopeless. they said it would anger powerful southern democrats and committee chairman. it risked derailing the rest of

his domestic agenda. saidarticularly bold aid that he did not believe that the president should spend time and power on lost causes, however worthy they may be. it is said that president hellon replied, "what the is the presidency for?" [applause] what the hell is the presidency , if not to fight for causes that you believe in? commemorate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights act. we honor the men and women who made it possible. some of them are here today. we celebrate giants like john

lewis and andrew young. recall the countless unheralded americans, black and white, students and scholars, , whosers, housekeepers names are not etched on monuments but are etched in the hearts of their loved ones and in the fabric of the country that they helped to change. here, deep in the heart of the state, to recall a real theorts to make promise of our founding. we hold these truths to be men aredent, that all created equal.

us who have the singular privilege to hold the office of the presidency no that progress in this country to be hard and it can be slow. frustrating and sometimes stymied. this office humbles you. you are reminded daily that in this great democracy, you are a swimmer in the current of democracy. vindicatefollow will your vision. the presidency also affords a bend theportunity to currents by shaping our loss and shaping our debates. confines ofin the

the world as it is and reimagine the world as it should be. was president johnson's genius. a master of politics and legislative progress. he grasped thomas like few others, the power of government to bring about change. nothing, if not a realist. he was aware that the law is not enough to change hearts and minds. justice is blind to color. until education is blind to race. until opportunity is not concerned with the color of skins, emancipation will be a proclamation and not a fact. laws cannot accomplish everything. he knew that only the law could

anchor change. it would set hearts and minds on a different course. basicof americans needed protections at those times. as dr. king said, it may be true that the law cannot make a man love me. they can keep him from lynching me and i think that is important. [applause] laws was what lbj knew how to do. politics and nobody loved legislating more than president johnson. he was charming when he needed to be. he was ruthless when required. [laughter]

he could wear you down with logic and argument. he could of course trade -- horse trade and flatter. you come with me on this bill, he would reportedly tell a key republican leader for my home state during the fight for the and 200 yearsill, now, people will only know two names, abraham lincoln and -- [laughter] he knew that senators would believe things like that. [laughter] [applause] president johnson like power. he liked the feel of it and the wielding of it. and hunger was harnessed

by a deeper understanding of the human condition. underdog,thy for the for the downtrodden, for the outcast. it was a sympathy rooted in his experience. as a young boy growing up, johnson knew what being poor felt like. poverty was so common that he would say that he did not know it had a name. the family home did not have electricity. everybody worked hard, including the children. president johnson knows the metallic taste of hunger, the

, rawof a callused hand from cleaning and holding a house together. his cousin remembered sweltering days spent on hands and knees in the cotton fields. boy, there has to be a better way to make a living van this. there has to be a better way. later,not until years when he was teaching at a texas that he in came to understand how much worse the pain of poverty could be for other races. times, students would show up to class hungry. he would visit their homes and meet fathers who were paid slave

wages by the farmers that they work for. those children were taught, he would later say, that the end of life is in a spinach field or a cotton patch. discrimination. these are not abstractions to lyndon baines johnson. he knew the poverty and injustice are as inseparable as opportunity and justice. that was in him. from an early age. like any of us, he was not a perfect man. his experiences in rural texas may have stretched his moral imagination. he was ambitious. very ambitious. to plotman in a hurry

an escape from poverty and to chart a political career. in the jim crow south, that means not challenging conventions. his first 20 years in congress, he opposed every single civil rights bill that came up for a vote. chosen as a vice presidential nominee the cousin ofhis ability to -- because his ability to deliver that vote. caution towards racial controversy. .archers kept marching four little girls were killed in a church. bloody sunday happened.

the wind of change blew. came, when lbj stood in the oval office and looked out over the south lawn in a quiet moment and asked himself what the true purpose of , what withwas for the end point of his ambition? he would reach back in his own memory and would remember his experience with wanting. he knew that he had a unique as the most powerful

what politician from the south. to not only challenge the convention that had crush the dreams of so many and to dismantle, for good, the structures of legal segregation. he is the only guy who could do it. knew that there would be a cost. he famously said that the democratic party may have lost .he south for a generation that is what his presidency was for. where he meets his moment. will,sessed, with an iron with those skills that he had honed so many years in congress

and pushed and was supported by a movement of those who were willing to sacrifice everything for liberation. johnson fought for and argued and of course traded, and r, argued,r and argue trade, and bullied until the civil rights act was signed into law. let the dust settle and that the country absorbed this momentous decision. he shook them off. as meat in the coconut, president johnson put it, was

the voting rights act and he fought for that to pass it, as well. immigration reform came shortly after and then, a fair housing act. then, a health care law that opponents described as socialized medicine that would curtail freedom. it is now known as medicare. [applause] equality requires more than the oppression. it requires the presence of economic opportunity.

he would not be as eloquent as martin luther king in describing that linkage. dr. king moved into mobilizing sanitation workers and a poor people movement. job.ent decent wages. health care. those are civil rights worth fighting for. and economy where hard work is rewarded and success is shared this is cool. -- was his goal. seen the new deal transform the landscape of his texas childhood and had seen the difference that the tennessee valley authority had made with electricity. the transformation was in the days of the life of his family.

he understood that government had a role to play to broaden prosperity to all of those who strive for it. we want to open the gates, president johnson said. we are going to give all of our people, black and white, the help they need to walk through the gates. some of this sounds familiar. that is because, we would remain locked in the same great debate. it is about equality and opportunity. the role of government in ensuring each. ago, those 50 years who dismiss the great society as a failed experiment and an encroachment on liberty, who

argued that the government has become the source of all that ails us and poverty is due to the moral failings of those who suffer from it. there are those who argue that nothing has changed. that racism is so embedded in use in that there is no trying politics. the game is rigged. such theories ignore history. yes, it is true that, the civil rights act and the voting rights still leaves ae society with division and poverty. yes, ray still colors our political debates and there have

been government programs that have fallen short. where cynicism is it is easy wisdom, to conclude that there are limits to change and that we are trapped by our history. politics is a fools errand and we would be better off if we ofld roll back big chunks lbj's legacy or do not put too much of our hope or invest too much of our hope in government. this.ct medicare.ecause [applause] not just because medicare and medicaid have lifted millions from suffering.

not just because the poverty rate in this nation would be worse without all the programs that survive to this day. [applause] because of the civil rights movement, because of the laws the president johnson signs, doors of opportunity and education came open for everyone. not all of once. they did open. not just black and white.

also women and latinos, asians, native americans. gay americans. americans with a disability. it opened for you and me. that is why i am standing here today. because of those efforts and that legacy. that means that we have a debt to pay. we cannot afford to be cynical. half a century later, the laws that were passed are now as fundamental to our conception of ourselves and our democracy as the constitution. and, the bill of rights. they are foundational.

piece ofan essential the american character. because we today know we cannot be complacent. forward and can travel backwards. they can travel sideways. can travel sideways. securing the gains the country has made requires vigilance. our rights must be nurtured through struggle, discipline, persistence, and faith. concerns i have during these moments, the celebration of the civil rights act, the that on washington, is

from a distance, these seem easy and inevitable. pain, difficulty, struggle, doubt is rubbed away. -- we look at ourselves and say that things are different now and we could not do what was done then with the giants and what they accomplished. yet, they were men and women and it was not easy then. .t was not certain then still. america is the story of progress. slow, however incomplete , however harshly challenged at each point on our journey.

however flawed our leaders. times we have to take a quarter of a loaf or half , the story of america is a story of progress and that is true because of presidents like lyndon baines johnson. [applause] in so many ways, he embodied america. all of our gifts and all of our flaws. all of our restlessness and all of our big dreams. , born into poverty, race in a world full of racial

found the ability to connecthis ability to with the experience of a brown child in a texas town and a white child in appalachia. tts.black child in wa , heowerful as he became understood. understood what it meant to be on the outside. that their plight was his white, too. his freedom was wrapped up in their livesaking better was what the hell the presidency was for. [applause]

those children were on his mind when he went to the podium in the house chamber and called for the vote on the civil rights law. it never occurred to me, he said, and my dreams that i would have the help -- the chance to help the sons and daughters of the students that he had taught so many years ago all over this country. now, i do have that chance. i will let you in on a secret. i intend to use it. i hope you will use it with me. that is the greatness of lbj.

that is why we remember him. if there is one thing that he should teach us, one lesson that malia and sasha learned from today is that, with enough effort and empathy, , peopleance, courage who love this country can change it. year, president johnson stood on the stage, with battered by controversies , looking far older than his 64 years, and delivered his final public speech. we have proven that great progress is possible.

we know how much still remains to be done. and ifefforts continue if ourl is strong, hearts are right, it occurred remains our constant companion, my fellow americans, i'm confident that we shall overcome . [applause] we shall overcome. we. the citizens of the united states. , like abraham lincoln, like countless citizens who have moved this country knewrd, president johnson

that ours is a story of optimism , achievement, and constant striving that is unique upon this earth. he knew it because he had lived this story. he believed that we could build an america that is more equal and free than the one we inherited. he believed. in part, because of him, we must believe, as well. thank you. god bless you. god bless the united states of america.

>> during this month, c-span is pleased to present our winning entries into the student competition. highcourages middle and school students to think critically about issues. students were asked to create a video-based on the question of what the most important issue that congress should consider an 2014. from new waverly texas. to change the federal reserve. >> we face a manufactured political crisis that delivers

our necessary -- >> if you paid any attention to years,s or the last six you know that the economy is having a rough time. some ignore this fact and say it has nothing to do with their individual life. with ignorant views of economics may be the majority view of the population. teenagers areoled no longer concerned about the budget. we are concerned about the future and what it holds for our children. the federal reserve continues with short-term fixes for the economy and the long-term effects could be drastic. our central banks have been mandated to take on more and more responsibilities that it was never intended to accomplish.

traveled all the way to dallas texas to interview some of the most knowledgeable and en.eemed man we will endeavor to show that the federal reserve presentation has become delusional. there are ways to reform the fed to make sure it fulfills its true purpose with greater long-term effects and in a more sustainable way. to begin, let's introduce you to john. he is one of the leading analysts and the president of maldin economics. >> it was a reaction to the crash of 1907. they had to reform the function of the federal reserve by stepping in and quieting the

markets. the country had been through a series of panic in boom-bust cycles and they decided to go back to a central bank model to smooth it out. view, theat is, in my real purpose of a central bank. >> there are a series of financial panics in the united states. during a financial panic, you have people running to get money out of the bank and there is no lender of last resort for banks. what happens is the private sector stepping in in 1907. jpmorgan acted like a central bank and that was problematic. congress had had enough and set up a commission to study this. they said, what can we do about this? to congressional attempt rectify the panics that

happened. once let us turn our attention to some of the problems created by the fed and congress, due to the lack of involvement in federal reserve policies. 1980's, there was regulatory mismanagement by lawmakers. in have regulatory oversight the 1990's that resulted in enron and long-term capital transitions. you have mismanagement and glass-steagall. the bankingng of system and irresponsible housing loss at a congressional level. we saw what the results were. >> if the federal reserve makes rates too low, it means that the people who retire to not make as much money from their retirement savings. they have done what they were told to do, work hard all their

lives and save money. you're supposed to be retired and living off your savings. the difference between a five percent or six percent interest rate and making an eight percent significant. they have kept rates too low for too long and created an that is negative. when they created the financial repression, when they lower the interest rates beyond what they would be naturally in an effort ,o get people to consume more -- whaty are doing is they need is the pension funds to be there and it is really not the money that people invest in pension funds that pays for retirement at the end of the day. it is returns on those funds over 30 years. the compound interest is where a big bulk of your pension money

comes from. if you lower the returns, there is less money in the future. people in the future, your generation, are going to have to put more money into pay for my retirement or, i get less money. have funded you enough and we have to make something on our own. there is a coming clash of generations that is going to become real. >> is there a way to fix the problem? we do not want this video to be gloom and doom. we want to create positive change for the country. >> they need to get the budget issues in this country under control and the spending issues in this country under control. should beat the debt 6-8%down and interest is

of the u.s. budget. >> there has to be congressional and executive help. >> they need to re-examine priorities and what this was put in place for. trackeed to get back on or we will have a real problem. >> congress, mr. president, my future rests in your hands. my country has stood for two under 38 years. years -- 238 years. to make life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness to be available to all. thank you. the winningall of videos and learn more about our competition, go to our website. the us what you think about

issues that the students want us to continue -- consider. post a comment or send us a tweet. >> michelle obama will host an event in support of monetary and mentoring caregivers. live coverage starts tomorrow at noon. paul ryan will be a public speaker at a republican dinner in cedar rapids. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter and our live coverage begins at 8:00 eastern. the house oversight committee voted along power -- partyline still hold lois lerner in contempt of congress.

lois lerner has been a key figure. darrell issa chairs this committee. >> the committee will come to order. the committee meets today to consider a resolution finding lois lerner, former director of

exempt organizations, irs, in contempt of congress. the committee has convened this meeting to consider a resolution recommending contempt of congress for former irs executive lois lerner. this is not an action i take lightly. why did she do certain things and who else was involved? it is important to review how we arrived at this resolution today. ms. lerner appeared before this committee last may and made an entirely voluntary opening statement in which she professed her innocence.

she said she did nothing wrong, broke no laws, and did not violate any irs rules. after her under-oath wide-ranging claims of innocence, ms. lerner's answer some additional questions, then refused -- i'm sorry -- ms. lerner asserted her fifth amendment rights and then answered some additional questions after asserting the fifth. we know from her attorney that she sat down for a lengthy interview with eric holder's justice department.

from elected representatives of the american people. at one point, ms. lerner's attorney told us she would testify, but then rescinded that offer after seeing some of the evidence gathered by the committee. that is not the way these things work. the american taxpayers certainly do not get to plead the fifth and escape all of accountability when the irs audits them. yesterday, the ways and means committee voted to release information allowing chairman camp to send a letter referring her to the justice department for probable criminal acts.

i now ask unanimous and said that those documents be placed in the record. without objection, so ordered. like chairman camp, i'm concerned ms. lerner violated the law. if she or her lawyer explained what she wanted to admit and why she needed immunity to tell the full truth, i certainly would consider it. in but i am not going to support immunity so ms. lerner can continue to mislead this committee if she really did nothing wrong and want to tell the full truth. she does not need immunity. absent a change of position by ms. lerner, this committee has already determined she waived her fifth amendment claim. it would be responsible for the committee not to vigorously pursue her testimony that includes holding her accountable if she fails to meet her legal obligations.

throughout the summer, the irs released self-selected and self-beneficial documents purporting to show the irs also targeted liberal groups. the irs prioritized those documents over the material, including lois lerner's e-mails, which were the subject to subpoena and to this day have not been turned over. on monday the committee released a 141-page report that debunks the myth that the irs targeted liberal groups. the evidence showed that only tea party and conservative groups were targeted because of their political beliefs. regrettably, the misinformation campaign continues. the new irs commissioner testified before the committee just two weeks go. he tried to engage in some revisionist history, flatly denying the irs inspector general had ever called the irs wrongdoing targeting. the commissioner was simply wrong.

"the washington post" fact checker found the commissioner's claim was a significant factual error. this is not a good start for a man selected by the president to restore trust in the irs. the american people rightfully do not trust the irs to tell them what really happened. that responsibility falls to us. we cannot tell the american people that we have done all we can do to get to the truth in this investigation if we offer a path to a critical witness like ms. lerner. we are here today for one

fundamental reason -- to get to the full truth about irs targeting. we cannot abandon our responsibility. i recognize the ranking member for his statement. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i believe with all my heart that you take this meeting very seriously, and, as you said, you do not take it lightly. there is no one on this side of the aisle, and i'm sure on the other side, who take it lightly either. before i begin, i want to note that i would like to be recognized at the appropriate time for a motion after the members speaking on a resolution. today i do not direct my comments to my committee members. my comments are directed to generations of americans yet unborn who will learn about this vote in their history books long after i am dead.

i speak to those who are reading the transcript of today's proceedings, 50 to 100 years from now, and trying to understand why congress in 2014 tried to strip away an american citizen's rights under the fifth amendment of the constitution of the united states of america. i want them to know that members of this body believe that this vote was a rejection of the constitutional principles we were sworn to uphold. i want them to know that i objected. let me make clear that i am not defending the actions of lois lerner. but rather, the protections guaranteed by the constitution to every american, and perhaps i am a little sensitive about rights, having been the son of two former sharecroppers with

only a second-grade education who did not have certain rights throughout their lives. let me also make clear that i i wanted to hear ms. lerner's testimony. i would want to know why she did not discover for more than one year that inappropriate criteria were being used in cincinnati, and i also wanted to know she did not tell the congress sooner about these actions. however, i cannot cast a vote that would place me on the same page of history books as senator joseph mccarthy, and i do not draw that comparison lightly. today this committee is trying to dso