February 02,2005

Grassley on Social Security, Tax Reform in the State of the Union Address

M E M O R A N D U M

To: Reporters and Editors
Re: State of the Union Address
Da: Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, made the following commentsin anticipation of the President’s expected remarks on Social Security and tax reform and simplification during the State of the Union address tonight.

On Social Security:

“I give the President credit for taking on a controversial issue. Some elected officials wantto ignore the problem except to make political hay out of it. But we’re elected to solve problems,not pass them on to the next generation. It’s our responsibility to address this issue right now, before the situation gets worse. We’ve got a chance right now to make public policy for the public good.”

On tax reform and simplification:

“You shouldn’t need a Ph.D or a staff to file your taxes. The President is serving taxpayersby taking this on. With his great bully pulpit, he can do more to build a national consensus on tax reform than anyone else. While his panel studies the issue, I have my staff looking at ways to simplify tax laws. Congress has been adding to the tax code for nearly 100 years. It makes sense to stop and take stock.”