Two members of the House of Representatives created the Bipartisan Congressional CPA Caucus with a goal of harnessing their unique professional skills to develop innovative policy approaches to issues that affect CPAs, including tax administration and compliance, and accounting and auditing standards.
Reps. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and Michael Conaway, R-Texas, the caucus’s inaugural co-chairs, announced the group’s creation on Wednesday. The representatives said another main goal of the caucus is to provide input on issues being debated by Congress on which CPAs have particular expertise, including budgeting and fiscal issues.
Eight CPAs are members of the House in the 112th Congress.
“Establishing the CPA Caucus allows us to educate our colleagues about the importance of the accounting profession to American business, and to share our expertise on tax administration and compliance,” Sherman, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a news release. “We also hope to bring a bipartisan CPA perspective to the fiscal and budgeting issues facing Congress.”
Before his election to the House in 1996, Sherman was a tax law specialist. He audited large business and government entities, provided tax counsel, and advised small businesses on tax issues.
Conaway, an advocate for a simpler tax system, has sponsored legislation that would bring more accountability in government spending. Before his election to the House in 2004, he worked for Price Waterhouse & Co.
“Taxpayer dollars should be spent wisely, or not at all. It is our responsibility to re-evaluate the spending process in Congress,” Conaway said in the news release. “I look forward to working with our fellow CPAs in Congress to ensure a platform through which we can share our perspective, informed by our unique education and experience, with the rest of our colleagues.”
The other CPAs in the House are Reps. John Campbell, R-Calif.; Bill Flores, R-Texas; Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan.; Steven Palazzo, R-Miss.; Collin Peterson, D-Minn.; and James Renacci, R-Ohio.
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