100 thoughts on “Jackie Bugnion 2017 Residence Based Taxation: To Chairman Hatch’s request for tax reform proposals”

1. @Tricia,
   Might also want to point out that the current punitive treatment and lack of remedy for the double taxation of the RDSP, RESP, and TFSA parallel the tortured history of the US treatment of RRSPs and RRIFs, which went on for years of torture of those on both sides of the border for no good reason
   ex. ;
   http://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2016/aug/reporting-requirements-for-canadian-retirement-accounts.html

2. Here are other potentially useful AICPA advocacy letters which might contain points to mention or to bolster a submission;
   http://www.aicpa.org/advocacy/tax/downloadabledocuments/aicpa-comments-on-simplification-of-tax-filing-obligations-for-americans-living-abroad-08-15-16.pdf

   http://www.aicpa.org/advocacy/cpaadvocate/2016/pages/aicpa-calls-for-end-to-duplicative-expat-tax-reporting.aspx

   http://www.aicpa.org/Advocacy/Tax/DownloadableDocuments/2016-03-09_AICPA_Comment_Letter_Proposed_Revisions_to_OVDP_and_Streamlined_Programs.pdf
   (particularly note comments re PFICs, foreign mutual funds, and ‘snowbirds’).

3. BUT Badger, AICPA only wants “targeted elimination of certain duplicative reporting requirements” … small bandaids which still allow the FATCA/FBAR wounds to fester plenty enough for their “healing” expertise to still be needed. The AICPA submissions do point out problems but as for their solutions … meh! The FATCA/FBAR monster needs TOTAL elimination not TARGETED elimination for outlanders. They can do targeted elimination for homelanders who are within their jurisdiction but hands off those who are not.

4. JakDac: Thanks for posting the submission from Karen Alpert. Excellent letter! Karen, you spoke for many of us. Let’s hope the Committee listens a little better than it did two years ago!

5. True @Embee, not useful in total, but thought perhaps people could cite portions in part to bolster their own complaints that US tax policies re those ‘abroad’ are complex, burdensome and unfair overall to impose on people whose local accounts are ordinary lawful local banking necessary to everyday life, just as those of people who live and bank INSIDE the US. Something along the lines of; “even the AICPA argues that…..”.

   This is the testimonial that seemed potentially useful coming from a compliance based organization;
   ……”…Our recommendation for relief from existing filing requirements would only apply to taxpayers
   who have foreign financial accounts in their country of residence. These taxpayers have
   established the accounts as part of their day-to-day living, with no intent to hide assets or
   knowingly avoid their income tax liabilities…..”…

   I know it is really meant as a SCE type argument – for a ‘comfier’ compliance burden, but thought it might work if cited in part, as it is compliance industry organization contradicting the prevailing US narrative that any and all accounts outside the US are those of people intending to hide ‘foreign’ assets ‘offshore’ as perpetrated by people like Elise Bean, etc..

   Perhaps too compromising to use.

6. @ badger
   I definitely wouldn’t link to the AICPA letters but certainly getting ideas about the problems like the clashes of US tax regs with other countries’ regs would be okay.

7. @Embee, they certainly have their limitations for RBT advocacy from a pure RBT position because of their starting point assumes compliance with CBT – only comfier.

8. I was thinking about support for this point – as in the Buignon submission;
   “Tax collected currently under CBT, other than that linked to U.S.-source income, comes from unacceptable instances of double taxation.”

   “Incompatibilities between the U.S. tax code and foreign tax systems lead to double taxation. ”

   and,

   “The financial burden of compliance is far in excess of reporting requirements for U.S. residents and easily runs into the thousands of dollars, which is all the more ludicrous when the vast majority have no U.S. tax liability.”

   and,
   “…impediments and disincentives for savings and
   investments.”

   as well as the additional layers of complexity, compliance costs, and confiscatory penalties imposed on the same legitimate savings account/instrument when it may be subjected to multiple layered FBAR, FATCA, 3520/A, PFIC, etc. information reporting and penalty structures – even if no actual US tax is owed.

9. My partner here in the UK has been through this FATCA, US banking lock-out, financial spying and sharing debacle because she had the misfortune of being born in the United States. She renounced last winter and now received her certificate that proves she is free of the shackles that her birthplace had on her. She now has no banking issues and even her employer congratulated her on her move, as her close work with her company’s CFO and possibility to rise within the firm were put into question because of her US contamination. Two years ago she called a Senator from her home state of Georgia, a “friend” of her father, who was of absolutely no help. His first question was, “Why in the world did you leave and go and live in the UK?” The next comment was even more stupid. He told her that the best thing for her to do would be to return to the United States, as it was “normal” in these times that any US citizen living electing to live abroad had to be under “special scrutiny”(!!!!) especially as concerns their finances. I saw earlier on this thread that some people said that renouncing was not an option, as it cost so much to be obedient and do everything that they are supposed to do. Nothing requires that you have all of your taxes filed and paid in order to renounce. You just have to pay the $2,350 dollars to get out. The rest is up to you. Once you’ve renounced let that country send you letters and threats and whatever they want. If you have no intention of ever going back there, why would anybody care and worry so much and be ever so obedient? We British are basically a very reserved and conforming lot, but in a case like this, when dealing with a country like the United States, in the case of FATCA and everything else, I seriously think that most Brits would not give a damn about complying with all of the destructive rules of a country that obviously couldn’t give a damn about justice, fairness and the welfare of its supposed citizens. Americans never cease to amaze me, with their naive and childish belief in a system that is clearly so broken. They should grow up fast as a society.

10. Honorable Orrin Hatch, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance

    2017 Tax Reform Submission. Thank you for this opportunity.

    This letter is directed at your topic #4: updating the international tax system for INDIVIDUALS.

    Requests:
    1. Shift to Territorial/Residence Based Taxation for individuals.
    2. Repeal FATCA.

    Both 1) and 2) are in the Republican Party Platform.

    I reference the 2015 submissions to the Senate Finance Committee Bi-Partisan Workgroup on Tax Reform. In 2015 the committee did nothing with the submissions.

    Of the 347 submissions to the International Taxation working group in 2015, 245 (71%) were about issues of concern to U.S. Persons living outside the USA, the rest related to corporate taxes. Listed here: http://fatca.eu.pn/

    Of the 448 submissions to the Individual Taxation working group, 215 (48%) focused on taxation of US persons living outside the USA.

    *********

    There are general aims of tax reform that cut across all the four areas you outline.

    Fairness.

    U.S. tax laws stipulate that U.S. Persons are considered U.S. residents for tax purposes no matter where in the world they live. This introduces double taxation. Persons tax resident in other countries already pay a fair share of tax as required by those countries.

    Double taxation of Americans abroad is similar to this hypothetical situation: if a person who lived in New York State now moves to Texas and if New York still required taxation of this person as if they were still a resident of New York. In my opinion, most Americans would find such double taxation objectionable.

    Tax treaties mitigate double taxation. However, they also guarantee double taxation on any additional tax, tax at a higher rate, tax under a different name, or tax at a lower threshold the U.S. has but not one’s country of residence. Australia for instance has a higher tax free threshold than the U.S. These areas of double taxation have been called tax treaty gaps.

    The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) covers earned income. There are other types of income. If one lives for some time in another country they may acquire retirement funds and investments as part of building family financial security.

    In Australia, the government mandates payment by employers to a retirement accounts called “superannuation.” IRS rules categorize a superannuation fund as a “nonqualified pension fund.” The U.S. tax laws do not allow credit for Australian tax paid on superannuation, while the Australian government does not allow credit for U.S. tax paid on superannuation as the accounts are Australian source. This is one example of double taxation guaranteed by the tax treaty, an example of a “tax treaty gap.”

    When one lives overseas all accounts/assets may be local to this person yet penalized as “foreign” under the U.S. tax code. Persons living overseas must report accounts to the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit as if under suspicion of being a criminal, and face potentially bankrupting fines for not reporting a form right even if no tax is owed.

    Approximately 92% of the 9 million U.S. Persons overseas live in equal or higher taxing jurisdictions compared to the U.S. The U.S. tax code treats 100% of them as under suspicion of evading U.S. taxes. Such treatment should be reserved for U.S. residents with accounts in known tax havens.

    Taxation without representation.

    Americans learn of the phrase and injustice of “no taxation without representation” in the founding of America. U.S. Persons living overseas may vote yet their votes get diluted among the 50 states. They have no representation such as in the French Parliament from representatives only focusing on persons abroad. U.S. Persons overseas never would have consented to the double taxation.

    In the American Revolutionary era Samuel Adams labelled British taxation of the Colonies as “tributary slavery.” Such a phrase suggests an arbitrary and one-way nature of the taxation.

    Today the double taxation of U.S. Persons overseas may arguably be more egregious than what Samuel Adams referred to. When King George III ruled the Colonies there were services and protection of local property provided to the Colonists, while today the U.S. provides no U.S. resident services or protection of local property to U.S. persons living in other countries. Additionally the Colonists were not subject to compliance and tax from two different sovereigns.

    Justification of Taxation.

    I introduce Immanuel Kant who states that taxation is justified when it increases human autonomy with provision for survival needs (services) in exchange, or for the protection of property. The United States government provides no U.S. resident services (roads, unemployment, food stamps, etc.) to U.S. Persons overseas, nor does the U.S. government provide U.S. Persons overseas protection of local property (laws, police, courts, etc.). Services and protection are provided by the government of the country one is a tax resident of in exchange for the fair share of taxes paid. As the U.S. Government does not provide local services and local protection of property the U.S. claim of tax jurisdiction is not justified over U.S. persons tax resident in other countries.

    Competitiveness.

    The United States is an outlier in the world taxing based on citizenship instead of the international norm of taxation based on residency. The U.S. impedes the building of family financial security and of businesses through double taxation on U.S. Persons overseas. This burden is additional to what nationals in other countries face including expats from other countries.

    It may be said that Russian citizenship offers more liberty than U.S. citizenship in regards to living in another country unshackled by double taxation. Sergey Brin of Google is not required to pay double tax to Russia or face tax cheat potentially bankrupting penalties for not reporting accounts right.

    Simplicity.

    The overlay of the 76,000+ page U.S. tax code on top of the tax code of Australia or any other country is a sum greater than the complexity of the two codes considered separately then added together. There are different tax years, currencies, and types of taxes. The laws often conflict with the best tax breaks and incentives of one country often cancelled by the other.

    For most Americans overseas the double taxation does not make sense and is unfathomable. Expensive tax assistance is often needed even for simple situations.

    There should be establishment of this U.S. tax Payer Right: The Right to simple and easily understood taxes. There must be some check on Congress adding forms upon forms and taxes upon taxes.

    Compliance Cost Minimization.

    There should be establishment of this U.S. Tax Payer Right: The Right to compliance cost minimization.

    All the additional forms for “foreign” accounts and earnings no better illustrate that the U.S. government has not considered or been checked by the expense and time required to comply with U.S. taxes. As most U.S. persons overseas receive tax credits, complying with U.S. tax becomes an expensive and time consuming exercise only really to the benefit of the compliance industry, as most people living overseas do not owe U.S. taxes.

    Under a shift to Residence Based Taxation, once tax residency has been established in another country, and if there are no U.S. assets and income from U.S. source then there should be no reporting or forms, just like for nationals abroad from all other countries. U.S. Persons should then be taxed as non resident aliens.

    Reducing the number of forms and taxes will benefit IRS administration.

    Donald Trump in Warsaw recently highlighted the danger of “the steady creep of government bureaucracy that drains the vitality and wealth of the people. The West became great not because of paperwork and regulations but because people were allowed to chase their dreams and pursue their destinies.”

    Repeal FATCA

    FATCA adds complexity, cost, and disadvantage for U.S. Persons overseas. FATCA is illustrative of the U.S. government’s insensitivity to inflicting compliance costs and consequences on U.S. Persons Overseas.

    Republicans Overseas has a lawsuit that FATCA is unconstitutional on 7 claims. In Canada there is a lawsuit that the FATCA IGA violates the Canadian Charter of Rights (similar to U.S Bill of Rights) that prohibits discrimination based on national origin. In France legal action is brewing with the E.U. and France in regards to FATCA instigated bank discrimination against Accidental Americans.

    While the FATCA IGAs require banks of the world not to discriminate against U.S. Persons as a result of FATCA compliance such discrimination has been widespread (especially in Europe) as banks fear bankrupting penalties if they miss reporting even one U.S. person account.

    Democrats Abroad summarized some of the early impacts of FATCA on Americans Abroad in a research report titled: FATCA: Affecting Everyday Americans Every Day.
    https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Att%202%20Democrats%20Abroad%202014%20FATCA%20Research%20Report1.pdf

    FATCA should be repealed, in my opinion, because of constitutional issues and the consequences on U.S. persons overseas from the threat of bankrupting fines on banks for noncompliance. If the U.S. wishes information on accounts overseas, the CRS is a way forward that focuses on reporting non-resident accounts.

    Shift to Residence Based Taxation as revenue neutral.

    I defer to the submission from Jacqueline Bugnion in regards to this area.

    A shift to residence based taxation will encourage American based companies to send Americans to live overseas to expand trade, encourage U.S. companies overseas to hire U.S. persons as current policies disincentivizes hiring of Americans, encourage non-U.S. companies to hire and promote U.S. persons especially for positions that involve signature authority over bank accounts, and encourage talent from other countries to work in America without fear of double taxation should they return to their countries of origin.

    Infringement of sovereignty of other nations.

    In my opinion, the U.S. claim of double tax jurisdiction over tax residents of other countries disrespects the sovereignty of other nations. The U.S. has forced other nations to violate their public policies of residence based taxation when they have felt forced to submit to the U.S. claim of double taxation in their tax treaties with the U.S.

    The double tax claim denies equal financial opportunities for citizens of other countries resident in those countries and represents, in my opinion, U.S. intervention into the internal affairs of other nations.

    The infliction of by some estimates of $200+ billion FATCA compliance costs and U.S. extraterritorial law on the banks of the world, while reneging on promises of reciprocity of ‘like for like’ data, all may add to international misgivings for dealing with the U.S.

    Summary.

    The current situation of double taxation of U.S. persons overseas is, in my opinion, Un-American and a situation that The Founding Fathers would not approve.

    A U.S. shift to Residence Based Taxation and a repeal of FATCA will align U.S. taxation with American founding principles and the residence basis of taxation practiced by all other OECD countries. The disadvantage of U.S. citizenship overseas will be removed compared to nationals from other countries.

    While Republicans are focused on the terminology of shift to “territorial taxation ” for companies, I hope that the Senate Finance Committee prepares legislation along these lines identical to the Residence Based Taxation for individuals as practiced by all other nations in the OECD. Companies should not be prioritized over “we the people.”

    Thank you for your consideration.

    Regards, Joe Citizen
    @JCDoubleTaxed

    The author consents to publication on the web and for reprint.

11. That was sent to a full mailbox. I also then e-mailed to the assistant of Hatch, all GOP Senators and assistants as provided by Jak Dac.

12. Still getting the ‘mailbox full’ reply.

13. I was trying to find some news on anything about the mailbox full/deadline extension. The link above to the letter from Hatch has some updates on other items even from the 17th.

    I came across this on the KPMG site: U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) today requested from tax stakeholders ideas, proposals, and feedback on improving the U.S. tax system.

    Potentially the mailbox has been filled by the swamp of the compliance industry out to protect their turf and clients, and their business.

14. Posted in Facebook Citizenship Taxation. Senate Finance Committee called They said that their email was “bombarded” with 100,000 spam messages and asked me to send my comment by fax to +1 202-228-0554. I’ll try to do that when I get home later today. Please let me know if you want me to send your comment by fax as well.

15. @JakDac

    Please send mine too.

    Shpuld I post it here or send it to via some other method?

16. How to Send a Free Fax Online from Your Computer
    http://ansonalex.com/reviews/free-online-fax-service-review-video/

17. I’m out then. No opportunity to watch a video for the next 10 hrs, long past the dealine.

18. To Japan T Details Posted in Facebook Citizenship Taxation

19. Japan T previous page has Senate assistant emails / Got to be in it to win it

    Post here too

20. No Favebook, no twitter, no line. Email only.

    But here it is, such that it is.

    To the Honorable Senators of the Finance Committee,

          Thank you for the opportunity to write to you and provide recommendations for tax policy relating to American citizens living outside the borders of our homeland.  Below is a slightly modified version of a submission I have made in the past. As the situation has not changed, the changes in my submission are due to more acurate information having been learnt.

    Several years ago I downloaded the application to renew my passport from my local embassy.  To say I was shocked is an understatement.  First, there is this statement “The Department of State must provide your SSN and foreign residence information to the Department of Treasury.  If you fail to provide the information, you are subject to a $500 penalty enforced by the IRS. “. The Fourth Amendment of our Constitution is now optional?  Or did Treasury write itself an exemption? This is a clear cut violation of Due Process.

    Then there is this statement, “Your Social Security Number will be provided to Treasury , used in connection with debt collection and checked against lists of persons ineligible or potentially ineligible to receive a U.S. Passport, among other authorized uses.”.  The right to leave one’s country, either permanently or temporarily is an internationally recognized human right, one which our country, the United States of America supports with laws, international treaties and Human Rights Complaints against nations that refuse this right to their citizens.  There can be no eligibility to exercise a right as rights require no such eligibility.  In short, if one can be eligible or ineligible for something, that something is not a right. If something is a right, one can not be eligible nor ineligible to exercise it.  Eligibility and Right are mutually exclusive terms.  

    And then we have the following, (emphasis in bold mine) “Your social security numbers will be provided to the U.S. Department of Treasury and failure to provide it may subject you to a penalty, as described in the Federal Tax Law provision.  It also may be used for identification verification for passport adjudication and in connection with debt collection, among other purposes as authorized and generally described in this section. PROVIDING YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND OTHER INFORMATION REQUESTED ON THIS FORM OTHERWISE IS VOLUNTARY, BUT FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION REQUESTED ON THIS FORM MAY RESULT IN PROCESSING DELAYS OR THE DENIAL OF YOUR U.S. PASSPORT APPLICATION”.

    The following bold is from the application, not mine.

    “CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION: Failure to provide the information requested on this form may result in Passport Services’ refusal to accept your application or result in the denial of a U.S. Passport.”

    For myself and others who are lawfully living overseas, this document reads, ‘The applicant will provide the following information and allow us to use it illegally or risk having the right to travel and reside outside the borders of the homeland illegally revoked’.    My Permanent Residence Visa requires that I maintain a valid passport.  The revocation of my passport would immediately tear myself away from my family, home and employment.  This is extortion.

    As horribly wrong and in violation of U.S. Law as this is, I would learn that the reason behind all of this is worse, much worse.   

    Recent changes in U.S. Tax law and/or IRS rules of which I had no way of even conceiving that such rules could exist in a country founded upon “No Taxation without Representation” over night made myself noncompliant in US taxes.  Learning of this after the fact, the only way to become compliant is to spend more money than I have earned since graduating from college and worse, spy on my non U.S. citizen spouse whom the IRS refers to as a “Nonresident Alien”.  Think for a moment on this definition of a non US citizen living in their native land who happened to marry an American.  Imagine if any of the native countries of your spouses, parents, grand parents or great grand parents decided that the U.S. Citizen spouses of their citizens living in the U.S. were “nonresident aliens for tax purposes to the fatherland” and you may get a glimpse at the absurdity of citizenship based taxation.

    Further, many of these new changes also violate U.S. law.  As it would be a violation of the 14th Amendment, equal protection, to require residents of New Jersey to provide information on their local accounts and assets that residents of Wyoming are not required to provide, so too is it a violation to require U.S. citizens living abroad to submit the information return, FBAR and its more recent offspring on their local accounts while not requiring residents of the U.S. to do so. Having to submit these to the Financial Crimes Division of the IRS for each and ever small, inadvertent, unintentional error to be found a violation with a minimum fine of $10,000 per error violates the fifth amendment as well as the 8th amendment protecting against excessive fines. And all of this with no tax owed.

    Some may argue that American’s living overseas indeed have representation in the Representatives and Senators from our home districts.  This is false.  First, on a practical note, many offices of the above do not accept correspondences from overseas ISPs.  Each state has two Senators and a number of Representatives based on the population of each state as determined by the US census. The reason is clear, the residents of New York State have different concerns and needs than the residents of Iowa.  Thus each state sends Representatives and Senators to the National Delegation.  The estimated 7 million Americans living out side the boundaries of our native land have no such representation. My concerns are not the same as my former neighbors in my home town nor not even my parents.  They do not need to report all their assets to the Financial Crimes div of the IRS.  They are not required to send sensitive personal financial information of their U.S. spouses to a foreign land under penalty from that land.  

    Additionally, as American citizens living overseas are not counted in the US census and the US census is used to determine the number of seats in the Congress for each state, Americans living outside the country are without representation.  

    For those who remain unconvinced on this point, surely they can not honestly believe that our “Nonresident Alien” spouses have representation in the U.S. Legislature, nor our non U.S. Citizen business partners with whom we may share an account, nor our companies or other organizations we may have signature authority over the accounts of, for example, the local girl scout troop. Yet, their financial information is required to be sent to the IRS by any U.S. person who may have earned the trust of their hosts to have been given signing authority of accounts within these organizations. 

    How about our children born overseas? Who represents them?  The U.S. Claims them as citizens owing taxes to a land that is foreign to them yet they have no representation.  These “accidental Americans” being citizens then bring the same curse of US Personhood to their Nonresident Alien spouses and children.  Yes, curse.  My country, the United States of American, the country I served in the military to protect for six years has turned one of the greatest gifts on Earth, US Citizenship into a curse for those of us who exercised our right to live outside the borders of our homeland.

    The worst is yet to be described. FATCA is having the biggest effect.  The law, which is the very definition of extortion, gives banks two choices, give the Treasury Dept. of the U.S. all information on anyone who might possibly be a US Person (without probable cause or warrant, the legally required Due Process protected by the 4th amendment of the Bill of Rights) or be fined 30% of all U.S. derived income.  Banks have decided upon a third option not thought of by the writers of this ill considered “law”, they are not allowing Americans to open new bank accounts and closing accounts currently held by U.S. Persons, thus relieving themselves of the burden of collecting, safe storing and transmitting this information.

    It is this last point that currently is my biggest concern.  All of my several employers pay with direct deposit only and will not pay with cash and paychecks do not exist in the country I reside in.  If my bank account is closed, I become unemployed and unemployable over night.  Worse, if my wife who now carries a non local surname has her account closed or frozen, we will be homeless long before year’s end for we will be unable to make any of the payments needed to keep a home or rent an apartment.  
    We living overseas pay taxes to the nations in which we reside, for the services we are provided. As we do not live in the US and receive zero services from the US, why must be pay taxes to the US? Why must noncitizens pay tax to the US and provide all financial data to US law enforcement (FBAR) just because they used to live there? Why must noncitizens who have no connection to the US other than to be married to a US Person pay taxes or report to US law enforcement (FBAR). Why must all of these people live in fear of being locked out by banks becuase of their connections to the US? Why have you taken US Citizenship and any connection to the US and changed them into a disease that is spread by casual financial contact.

    The solution is so utterly simple as to cause wonder how a nation so conceived as the United States could ever have come up with let alone implement such travesty upon its own citizens.  No taxation without representation.  Follow the Constitution, it is law.
    Repeal FATCA.  Remove FBAR requirements from US citizens living abroad. It is of dubious legality anyway and its fines can not not be anything but excessive and in violation of the 8th amendment. End citizenship based taxation.  Leave that to Eritrea and possibly North Korea.  We need not be numbered in their company.

21. Well done hope you sent to assistants

22. Sorry to be so helpless here, but could some direct me to where these altenative address can be found?

    Since have another position outsourced last Monday, I am a double full time job seeker. If I do not land something very soon, my children lose their seats at day care for children who have two parents working full time.

    Just an explanation of why I can not dedicate much more time to this.

23. Japan T,

    Jak Dac provided in these comments: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2017/07/14/jackie-bugnion-2017-residence-based-taxation-to-chairman-hatchs-request-for-tax-reform-proposals/comment-page-2/#comment-7940434 and http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2017/07/14/jackie-bugnion-2017-residence-based-taxation-to-chairman-hatchs-request-for-tax-reform-proposals/comment-page-2/#comment-7940456.

    Thanks for doing this in all the constraint of your time. I hope we see something going your way one day soon. Take care.

24. @C411

    Thanks. Sure as been a long time since anything has gone my way.

    Just sent to the first three on the list found in the top link. As these seem to be the same that are stated to be full, I am not hopefull.

25. @nigel
    The answers from the Georgia Senator are just appalling. Such ignorance. Such narcissism. Just unbelievable! Its like Americans have no idea that there is another world out there. I find such answers by a supposedly educated american politician shocking.