with that, i would like to welcome commissioner douglas shulman here today. i look forward to a fruitful discussion of his agency, his mission and the on going tax return filing season. before i yield to the ranking member, mr. lewis, i ask unanimous consent from all members written statements be included in the record. without objection, so ordered. i will ask unanimous consent that gao's report on the 2011 tax filing season and fiscal year 2012 budget request be included in the record. without objection, so ordered. mr. lewis? >> thank you very much, madam chair for holding this hearing on the internal revenue service. i'm pleased that we have the commissioner before us today. i have serious concern about the fact of recent budget cuts on taxpayers, tax collection and agency operation. in her most recent report to congress, the national taxpayer advocate stated that the most serious problem facing taxpayers is that the irs is not adequately funded to serve taxpayers and collect taxes. i fully agree with the statement. this year the agency budget was cut by

please give a warm welcome to douglas shulman. [applause] >> thank you, theresa. it is good to be back at the national press club. i have done this in the last couple of years. right as we round up filing season at the end, as we approach april 15, april 17 this year, spring is a great time in washington. the flowers are blooming, the trees are blooming, lots of kids are here on spring break. anyone who visits washington also is always impressed by the permanence and the timelessness of the buildings, the statues, the colonnades. it really speaks to the legacy of this great nation. and in my job, as someone responsible for an important institution in government, it reminds me of the people who have come before me trying to make this government a little bit better and the country better. and it reminds me of the enormous progress that men and women have made over the years trying to move the nation forward. i am always impressed by the creativity and innovation that ec institutions, both private sector and -- that you see in institutions, both private sector and pu

please give a warm welcome to douglas shulman. [applause] >> thank you, theresa. it is good to be back at the national press club. i have done this in the last couple of years. right as we round up filing season at the end, as we approach april 15, april 17 this year, spring is a great time in washington. the flowers are blooming, the trees are blooming, lots of kids are here on spring break. anyone who visits washington also is always impressed by the permanence and the timelessness of the buildings, the statues, the colonnades. it really speaks to the legacy of this great nation. and in my job, as someone responsible for an important institution in government, it reminds me of the people who have come before me trying to make this government a little bit better and the country better. and it reminds me of the enormous progress that men and women have made over the years trying to move the nation forward. i am always impressed by the creativity and innovation that ec institutions, both private sector and -- that you see in institutions, both private sector and pu

commissioner douglas shulman says his agency keeps a vigilant eye on one group in particular. >> peopleho make a lot of money and have very complicated returns. there's a lot more places where, a, we won't get information on them and we need to do a double check. and b, where people have the opportunity to push the envelope. the reality is if you make $50,000 a year as a school teacher, all of your income is withheld by your school system, sent to us. there's very little noncompliance. >> reporter: he says the i.r.s. sees all kinds of fraud. from multimillion dollar off shore bank accounts to small scale number fudging. but he still believes in the moral goodness of most americans. >> this country has a great tradition of voluntary compliance. i think the reason for that is the american people believe that this is a great country. they believe that their freedom, the opportunities afforded to them by living in this country isn't free. that's what taxes are for. >> reporter: a 2011 survey by the i.r.s. oversight board seems to back shulman up. 84% said it is not at all acceptable to chea

douglas shulman discuss the record. this is one hour. >> that afternoon. welcome to the national press club. i am the 105th president of the national press club. we are the leading organization for journalists committing to our future programming such as these while fostering a free press worldwide. for more information, please visit our web site at www.press.org. to donate to our programs offered to the public, please visit press.org/institute. i would like to welcome our speaker and those of you attending sunday's -- today's event. our table includes working journalist and club members. we noted that members of the general public are attending. it is not necessarily evidence of journalism objectivity. i would like to welcome our c- span a public radio audiences. our luncheons are also featured on our weekly pot cast -- podcast available aon itunes. after our speech concludes, that we will have a question and answer it segment. it is time for me to introduce our guest. i would ask you to stand up as your name is announced. washington editor. jennifer, a r

[applause] >> coming up on c-span, douglas shulman will talk about improving customer service. the will likely be a new taxpayer their base -- database. his remarks live. president obama signs a new business bill by reducing regulations. congress approved the measure last month. the president will sign that live today. the labor department reports that new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to its lowest point since april 2008. 210,000 jobs were added last month. starting in just a moment, continued live coverage of an all-day event on c-span2. speakers are discussing recent elections in jordan and libya and looking at the political future of those countries. it is hosted by the carnegie endowment for international peace. live coverage starting shirley on c-span2 -- live coverage starting shortly2. racine, going to wisconsin, to speak with third- prize-winner sinclair richards, an eighth-grader from mckinley middle school. your video was on the patriot act. why did you choose this topic? >> in our country, we're trying to balance the efforts of fighting terrorism a

. >> today on c-span, irs commissioner douglas shulman on the past and future of the nation's tax system. >> you're watching c-span2 with politics and public affairs week a stage live coverage of the u.s. senate. on weeknights watch key public policy this. every weekend the latest nonfiction authors and books on booktv. you can see past programs and get our schedules at a website. and you can join in the conversation on social media sites. >> the council on foreign relations hosted a discussion yesterday on where the global economy is headed. they talk about the u.s. economic recovery, europe's debt problem and china's expanding economy. from new york city, this is about an hour. [inaudible] >> i think we have been doing this session, i've been showing it for two years. every time i do if somebody comes up to the outdoors and say why did you press be so much? the economic news is terrible. i said i am just the messenger. i like to be a better messenger this time. i'm hoping the rest of the spin will be more optimistic than i just was. it's a very veterans all of you on this stage. lewis

luncheon speaker later today is deepak chopra, and tomorrow's luncheon speaker is rs commissioner douglas shulmanhis friday at ten we'll have another newsmaker, and it'll be a panel discussion on nuclear security and preventing nuclear terrorism. but for today i want to thank you for joining us and thank all of you for coming and for all of those watching, thank you as well. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> you renegotiate them, but -- and so from my perspective, you should be -- [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] >> but it didn't walk away from -- [inaudible] and so my perspective the thing that -- [inaudible] >> and more live events to tell you about coming up on the c-span networks today. at noon eastern, republican presidential candidate mitt romney speaks before the american society of news editors' conference in washington. the former massachusetts governor took first place in all three gop primaries yesterday, wisconsin, maryland, and the district of columbia. we'll have his remarks at noon over on c-sp

tomorrow afternoon, irs commissioner douglas shulman talks taxes at the national press club. eastern, also live on c- span, president obama signed legislation designed to make it easier for small companies to sell stock in initial public offerings. in a few moments here on c-span, the head of the pension benefit guaranty corp. on preparing for retirement. then from the council on foreign relations, a discussion on the global economic outlook. after that, congressional democrats looking into the causes of rising gas prices. later, mitt romney speaking to the american society of news editors. the pension benefit guaranty corp. insures private pension plans. the head of the agency spoke today at the national press club in washington about how americans should plan for retirement. this is 40 minutes. >> good morning. i served on the newsmaker committee here at the national press club. on behalf of the committee and the officers of the national press club, i want to thank all of you for coming out today. i also want to thank the reporters who are joining us on the phone as well as