Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing and giving us the opportunity to question a public servant with a sterling record for his work on behalf of this country. I have worked with Jack Lew through his time in Washington on issues of importance to the people of West Virginia. I look forward to continuing to work with him once he is confirmed as Treasury Secretary.

Today I want to discuss my goals for this Congress and this Administration. Two of my top priorities in the two years I have left as a member of this committee are reducing income inequality and raising significant revenues for deficit reduction. These goals go hand in hand.

I have said from the beginning of the deficit reduction process that we must implement a balanced approach to deficit reduction, that is equal parts revenues and spend cuts. The spending cuts have been made, more than $1.7 trillion in total. These cuts were more severe than I hoped for, but I understood that compromise was needed to move forward given the divided nature of our government.

The revenue number lags behind though at $700 billion. That is not parity, and that is something I want to see this Administration and this Treasury Secretary fight to correct. 

Today we have a tax code that is full of loopholes that add to our deficit and primarily benefit large corporations and the very wealthy. I have spent my career in public service advocating for a government that provides equal treatment and a helping hand to those struggling to get by.  I firmly believe that we can and should ask the wealthiest Americans to help keep our country strong for everyone, rather than burden middle class Americans even more.

Throughout his time in public life I have been proud of Mr. Lew for standing up for programs that help low-income Americans, like when he stood up for Social Security in 1983 and for Medicaid in 2011. 

Mr. Lew and I have spoken on several occasions about many issues that are paramount to West Virginians. We have talked about my strong belief in the need for significant additional revenues as part of the deficit reduction process and the importance of protecting life saving programs that low and middle income Americans rely on, like Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit, from harmful cuts. I am confident from our talks that Mr. Lew shares my commitment to preserving these important programs.

As we move forward in the weeks ahead I hope the Senate will confirm Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary and then enact legislation that can create jobs and use excess revenues for deficit reduction. Otherwise, I fear the long-term damage we will do to our country and too many struggling individuals and families in the name of short-term political successes will be severe.

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