April 2013 Newsletter
Issues Update
In recent weeks, Sen. Levin has highlighted how corporate tax loopholes raise the tax bills of American families; led the effort to produce a bipartisan report on concerns about the costs of the military's overseas bases; and fought for regulations that protect families from the effects of speculation and risky overseas trading in financial markets.
Budget is progress in fight against tax abuses
The Senate-passed budget resolution, a blueprint for the fiscal year that begins in October, represents an important step forward on an issue of great significance to American taxpayers: the need for balanced deficit reduction. An important part of balanced deficit reduction is reducing the deficit without severely damaging important protections for and investments in American families.
One way to do that is by ending unjustified tax loopholes and ending the damage they have inflicted on our budget. For many years as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Sen. Levin has focused on the maze of offshore schemes and complex gimmicks that are concocted to allow a privileged few to avoid paying the taxes that they owe.
Read Sen. Levin's newspaper column on the budget resolution's provisions on tax reform »
Report finds problems in overseas base costs
Recently, the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Sen. Levin, completed a year-long investigation into the costs of maintaining our nation's overseas military presence. The investigation produced a bipartisan report that reaches some troubling conclusions.
Read Sen. Levin's column on the overseas basing report »
Read a press release with more information on the report »
More news from Senator Levin
- Sen. Levin issued a statement opposing the mistaken calls for holding the Boston bombing suspect as an enemy combatant and wrote a column for U.S. News & World Report explaining how classifying the suspect as an enemy combatant could endanger efforts to prosecute him.
- He urged federal regulators to ensure that safeguards that protect the economy from risky financial bets by big banks apply to those banks' overseas trading offices.
- He led a group of senators encouraging a federal appeals court to faithfully apply the intent of Congress in writing laws to limit excessive speculation in commodities markets.
- He chaired a series of Armed Services Committee hearings, including with the secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; a hearing on U.S. policy regarding Syria; an update on worldwide threats to U.S. national security; hearings on the budget requests of the Navy and Army; testimony from the commander of U.S. Pacific Command; a confirmation hearing for the president's nominee to serve as commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe; and a hearing on U.S. policy in Afghanistan.