mr. engler. this summer i was just struck by how many businesses said that what they really want for growth and investing is some certainty and some predictability and some measure of permanence. the "wall street journal" said today the only thing about the permanent thing about the tax system is impermanent. you can fix one band-aid one temporary proposal or another. isn't there an urgent need if we're going to have significant economic growth to get some certainty and some predictability that you can only get if you have real tax reform? >> i think so. and i think many of our companies think that as well. i believe that that certainty -- certainly, i mentioned regulatory reform in a number of other areas. it's across everything today. but you're completely correct in terms of the tax code. let's whatever we do make it permanent and the complexities of scoring things, of how long this is in effect or not and affect what we've done at amp and all of that needs to go away. we need to make some dec

mr. engler which semblance of predictability so you can plan because that's what i found is just get away from th this. if we don't get the cooperation that chairman crapo is talking about we will have a lame duck session and it's just the lame duck session in 2010. we'll have a dysfunctional broken system rather than getting the family wage jobs that these outstanding witnesses would have. so i'd really encourage the work of you chairman nelson and senator crapo. >> this is clearly a moment in time in which we could get something done with the super committee. senator crapo? >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate you letting me go out of next and out of order because i have to run into another engagement but with this group of experts present i can't resist asking this one last question. there's been a lot of discussion by every one of the panel that we have to get our deficit under control. and that, you know, we may have some differences among us as to what portion of that problem relates to overspending versus the tax code or what have you. but we now have a special committee

mr. engler. i was struck by how many companies 1 certainty and predictability -- want certainty and predictability and some measure of permanence. the "wall street journal" says the only thing permanent about the tax system is its in permanence. you have one fix, one temporary band-aid or another proposal -- is there not an urgent need if we're going to have significant economic growth to get some certainty and predictability that you can only get if you have real tax reform? >> i think so and many of our companies think that as well. i believe that certainty -- and i mention regulatory reform and others area -- it is across everything today. but you are completely correct in terms of the tax code. whatever we do, let's make it permanent. complexity of scoring things, how long this is an effect or not, while we have done with at&t, if all that could go away. -- what we have done with amt, if all that could go away. we could go to a very good place over. out of time and that is another pigmentatio

mr. engler, i governor engler was president and ceo of the national association of manufacturers. of staff of the joint committee of taxation from 2007-2009. he has 20 years of experience practicing tax law in new york and is currently a professor of law at the university of southern california. an extraordinary panel. thank you for honoring us with your presence. senator crapo. >> if thank you mr. chairman. i appreciate your opening as well. i want to focus on one of your earlier comments. any part of the important needed changes that we need to make in america today with regard to our economic and fiscal policy, tax reform is one of the keys that we must not allow to be ignored. i have been working with a group of six, it has been called the game. -- gang. senator wyden has a proposal of his own. but the one area of agreement that we have among us and many others is that in addition to controlling the excessive spending appetite of washington and getting our spending under control, which is undoubtedly an important and necessary piece of the reform of our fiscal policy, we also

engler. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'll pick up on corporate tax reform, from dr. feldstein left off.edentials as a three-term governor, we got michigan back to a triple-a rated state. i appreciate the challenge in front of the committee. my testimony today focuses on the critical relationship among business tax reform, economic growth, and deficit reduction. business tax reform should be designed to maximize economic growth over time, while creating permanent jobs with good wages. we believe the congressional action can improve the ability of american workers to compete in the hyper competitive world economy. such actions to sustain economic growth would have the additional benefit of reducing the burden the nation's current debt imposes on our economy. if sound corporate tax reform along with other reforms, including broad regulatory reforms, improves economic growth by even half a percentage point, we can generate new jobs for millions of americans. you and the committee could not be holding a more timely hearing than today's session. our companies are disadvantaged today by a u.s.