[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 5, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H2729-H2731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of 
the House and offer a resolution previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
     President Donald Trump shall publicly disclose his tax return 
     information, which would conform with an important tradition 
     connected to occupancy of the White House, as well as uphold 
     his promise to the American people that he would release his 
     tax returns.
       Whereas, every President since Gerald Ford has disclosed 
     his tax return information to the American people;
       Whereas, in May 2014 Donald Trump stated during a 
     television interview: ``If I decide to run for office I'll 
     produce my tax returns absolutely. I would love to do that'';
       Whereas, in February 2015 Donald Trump stated during a 
     radio interview: ``I have no objection to certainly showing 
     tax returns'';
       Whereas, in February 2016 Donald Trump stated during a 
     televised Republican Presidential debate: ``I will absolutely 
     give my returns, but I'm being audited now for two or three 
     years, so I can't do it until the audit is finished, 
     obviously'';
       Whereas, in May 2016 Donald Trump stated during a 
     television interview: ``I will really gladly give them. When 
     the audit ends, I'll present them. That should be before the 
     election'';
       Whereas, the IRS has made clear that any taxpayer, 
     including Donald Trump, may release his tax returns at any 
     time while under audit;
       Whereas, the House of Representatives by constitutional 
     design is the institution closest to the American people, and 
     an overwhelming majority of the American people think Donald 
     Trump should release his tax returns immediately;
       Whereas, 17 different intelligence agencies in the United 
     States have concluded that Vladimir Putin and his Russian 
     regime interfered with our Presidential election for the 
     purpose of helping Donald Trump;
       Whereas, multiple high-level Trump associates were in 
     regular contact with Russian operatives and intelligence 
     agents during the same time that Russia was hacking into our 
     democracy;
       Whereas, multiple high-level Trump associates have 
     financial ties to the Russian regime;
       Whereas, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign 
     chairman, engineered a pro-Russia change in the Republican 
     Party platform in July 2016 and has received millions of 
     dollars from pro-Russian oligarchs to advance Putin's agenda;
       Whereas, Michael Flynn, Donald Trump's first National 
     Security Adviser, resigned in disgrace for misleading to Vice 
     President Mike Pence about potentially unlawful phone calls 
     to the Russian Ambassador and failed to disclose financial 
     compensation received from a Russian propaganda media outlet 
     closely tied to Vladimir Putin;
       Whereas, Carter Page, a top foreign policy adviser to the 
     Trump campaign, has now acknowledged visiting the Kremlin in 
     the midst of the 2016 Presidential election;
       Whereas, Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's Attorney General, 
     misled the Senate under oath by failing to disclose his 
     meetings with the Russian Ambassador that took place in July 
     2016 at the Republican National Convention and again in 
     September of 2016;
       Whereas, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's personal attorney, 
     now acknowledges being

[[Page H2730]]

     in contact with Russian operatives at the same time the 
     attacks on our democracy were taking place;
       Whereas, Jared Kushner, a senior White House advisor and 
     Donald Trump's son-in-law, now acknowledges previously 
     undisclosed meetings with the Russian Ambassador;
       Whereas, Roger Stone, a self-described political trickster 
     and Donald Trump's long-time consigliere, now acknowledges 
     being in contact with the Russian-aligned hacker Guccifer II 
     and predicted during the campaign that John Podesta's emails 
     would soon be exposed;
       Whereas, Ian Fleming, the renowned British author has 
     observed, ``Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three 
     times is enemy action'';
       Whereas, Donald Trump has shown an unrestrained willingness 
     to criticize and insult allies of the United States of 
     America;
       Whereas, Donald Trump wrongly accused Great Britain, our 
     closest ally, of wiretapping Trump Tower in New York City;
       Whereas, Donald Trump declined to shake German Chancellor 
     Angela Merkel's hand while seated together during their 
     recent joint appearance at the White House;
       Whereas, Donald Trump stated in a recent C-PAC speech that 
     ``Paris is no longer Paris'';
       Whereas, Donald Trump threatened to cancel a refugee 
     transfer agreement with our ally Australia and reportedly 
     hung up on the Prime Minister;
       Whereas, Donald Trump told the President of Mexico that 
     America would deploy military personnel to that sovereign 
     nation if our southern neighbor does not deal with its ``bad 
     hombres'';
       Whereas, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized our 
     strategic and military alliance with Western European allies 
     and called NATO ``obsolete'';
       Whereas, Donald Trump refuses to say a negative word about 
     Vladimir Putin or his corrupt Russian regime;
       Whereas, Bill O'Reilly interviewed Donald Trump on Super 
     Bowl Sunday and asked about Putin's brutal and murderous 
     regime;
       Whereas, Donald Trump responded, ``There are a lot of 
     killers. You think our country's so innocent?'', suggesting a 
     moral equivalence between the United States and Russia;
       Whereas, Yogi Berra, the great Yankee catcher and 
     philosopher-King, once observed ``that's too coincidental to 
     be a coincidence'';
       Whereas, Donald Trump tweeted on January 11: ``I have 
     nothing to do with Russia--no deals, no loans, no nothing'';
       Whereas, Donald Trump Jr. once stated: ``Russians make up a 
     pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. 
     We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia'';
       Whereas, disclosure of Donald Trump's tax returns will help 
     the American people and their elected Representatives in this 
     House better understand Trump's financial ties, if any, to 
     Putin's Russia;
       Whereas, the American people have a right to know whether 
     financial conflicts of interest exist between the President 
     of the United States and a hostile foreign power;
       Whereas, the chairmen of the House Ways and Means 
     Committee, Joint Committee on Taxation, and Senate Finance 
     Committee have the authority to request Donald Trump's tax 
     returns under section 6103 of the Tax Code; and
       Whereas, the FBI is conducting a criminal and 
     counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference 
     with the recent Presidential election, including possible 
     collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin: Now, 
     therefore, be it:
       Resolved, that the House of Representatives shall--
       1. Immediately request tax return information of Donald J. 
     Trump for tax years 2007 through 2016 for review in closed 
     executive session by the Committee on Ways and Means, as 
     provided under section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, and 
     vote to report the information therein to the full House of 
     Representatives; and
       2. Postpone consideration of comprehensive tax reform 
     legislation until after the elected Representatives of the 
     American people in this House have been able to review 
     Trump's tax returns and ascertain how any changes to the Tax 
     Code might financially benefit the President of the United 
     States.

                              {time}  1515

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from New York wish to 
present argument on the parliamentary question of whether the 
resolution presents a question of the privileges of the House?
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Yes, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York is recognized.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, under rule IX, clause 1, questions of the 
privileges of the House are ``those affecting the rights of the House 
collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its 
proceedings.''
  This resolution is privileged based on two issues of institutional 
integrity, both anchored in the United States Constitution.
  Upon adoption of the Constitution, Senators were elected by State 
legislative bodies; justices were appointed by the executive branch; 
Presidents were placed into office indirectly through the electoral 
college.
  The House was the only institution where Members were directly 
elected by the people. We were given 2-year terms to stay close to the 
people. Our integrity as a separate and coequal branch of government 
flows directly from our ability to vigilantly represent their 
interests.
  We don't work for the executive branch. We don't work for President 
Trump. We work for the people of this great Nation, and the American 
people overwhelmingly want the President's tax returns released.
  Secondarily, this House should exercise its prerogative as a separate 
and coequal branch of government, vigilantly represent the people, and 
act as a check and balance against Presidential obstruction. Our 
integrity hangs in the balance.
  The integrity of this House also hinges, lastly, on our willingness 
to properly legislate changes to the Tax Code. The American people 
have, in many cases, lost faith in our institutions of government, in 
part because they believe that we are out of touch and that we do not 
act in the best interests of hardworking Americans.
  Pursuant to Article I, section 7, clause 1 of the Constitution, often 
referred to as the Origination Clause, the House of Representatives has 
the sole authority to initiate legislation that raises revenue for the 
national government.
  According to a 2011 Heritage Foundation report, the taxation power 
was intentionally placed with the body closest to the people as part of 
the Great Compromise. The Heritage Foundation report urges Members of 
this House to ``be more zealous in protecting this exclusive 
prerogative.''
  President Trump has expressed an interest in working with the House 
to take on the most significant legislative reform of our Tax Code in 
30 years. How can we work with him on this legislation if we do not 
know how the proposed reforms might financially benefit him or the 
companies or countries to which he has business entanglements?
  How can we ascertain whether suggestions made by the executive branch 
are aimed to help the American people or aimed to help the President or 
his allies in business or throughout the world?
  The Founders of this great Nation made it so that we, as 
representatives of the people, have the constitutional duty to check 
and balance the executive branch, not the other way around.
  The integrity of this body is at risk if we choose to follow the path 
of unfettered obedience to the executive branch. The American people 
deserve to see his tax returns, and we have the power in this House to 
make it happen.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule.
  The gentleman from New York seeks to offer a resolution as a question 
of the privileges of the House under rule IX.
  As the Chair most recently ruled on March 22, 2017, the resolution 
directs the Committee on Ways and Means to meet and consider an item of 
business under the procedures set forth in 26 U.S.C. 6103 and, 
therefore, does not qualify as a question of the privileges of the 
House.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Shall the decision of the 
Chair stand as the judgment of the House?


                            Motion To Table

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Ms. Foxx moves to lay the appeal on the table.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to table will be followed by a 5-minute vote 
on passage of H.R. 1304.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 228, 
nays 185, answered ``present'' 2, not voting 14, as follows:

[[Page H2731]]

  


                             [Roll No. 219]

                               YEAS--228

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Farenthold
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     Labrador
     LaHood
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     Lewis (MN)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Murphy (PA)
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--185

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crist
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rosen
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--2

     DeFazio
     Sanford
       

                             NOT VOTING--14

     Beatty
     Bishop (UT)
     Bridenstine
     Collins (GA)
     Davis, Danny
     King (NY)
     LaMalfa
     Lawrence
     McEachin
     Sanchez
     Slaughter
     Velazquez
     Williams
     Yarmuth

                              {time}  1545

  Ms. McCOLLUM, Messrs. WELCH, and QUIGLEY changed their vote from 
``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. JOHNSON of Louisiana, POSEY, DENT, SMUCKER, HUNTER, and 
RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  Mr. SANFORD changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``present.''
  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________