[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 122 (Wednesday, July 19, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H5997-H5999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of 
the House and offer the resolution that was previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of Georgia). The Clerk will 
report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
     the President shall immediately disclose his tax return 
     information to the House of Representatives and the American 
     people.
       Whereas, according to the Tax History Project, every 
     President since Gerald Ford has disclosed his tax return 
     information to the public;
       Whereas, the chairmen of the Committee on Ways and Means, 
     Joint Committee on Taxation, and the Committee on Finance 
     have the authority to request the President's tax returns 
     under section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
       Whereas, 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, and the Committee on Ways and Means is 
     considering a comprehensive reform of the Tax Code;
       Whereas, President Donald J. Trump holds interests as the 
     sole or principal owner in approximately 500 separate 
     business entities, and the President's tax plan proposes to 
     cut the corporate tax from 35 percent to 15 percent, 
     applicable to many of these entities;
       Whereas, against the advice of ethics attorneys and the 
     nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics, the President has 
     refused to divest his ownership stake in his businesses, has 
     instead placed his assets in a trust which is run by his 
     adult children, and the President can withdraw profits from 
     his trust at any time of his choosing from any of the 
     companies he owns;
       Whereas, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, 
     Walter Shaub, resigned on July 6, 2017, stating that ``There 
     isn't much more I could accomplish at the Office of 
     Government Ethics, given the current situation. O.G.E.'s 
     recent experiences have made it clear that the ethics program 
     needs to be strengthened'';
       Whereas, according to media reports analyzing President 
     Trump's leaked 2005 tax return, had his own tax plan been in 
     place, he would have paid an estimated 3.48 percent rate 
     instead of a 24 percent rate, saving him $31.3 million in 
     that year alone;
       Whereas, without access to the President's tax returns, the 
     American people cannot determine how much he will personally 
     benefit from proposed changes to the Tax Code or from policy 
     decisions he makes, nor can the American people fully 
     understand the financial interests and motivations of the 
     President;
       Whereas, in June 2017, President Trump filed an updated 
     financial disclosure with the Office of Government Ethics 
     which showed that the President reported $37.2 million income 
     from the Mar-a-Lago resort between January 2016 and April 
     2017 where he hosted the President of China and from where he 
     ordered missile strikes against Syria;
       Whereas, during the same time period, President Trump 
     reported $288 million in income from all his golf courses, 
     including $19.7 million from his course in Bedminister, New 
     Jersey;
       Whereas, over the weekend of July 14, President Trump sent 
     out eight tweets promoting the U.S. Women's Open Golf 
     Tournament which took place at his Bedminister club;
       Whereas, Mar-a-Lago doubled its new member fees to $200,000 
     immediately following the 2016 election, and President Trump 
     personally benefits from such new member fees;
       Whereas, disclosure of the President's tax returns would 
     help those investigating Russian interference in the 2016 
     election and assist them in better understanding the 
     President's financial ties to the Russian Federation, Russian 
     businesses, and Russian individuals;
       Whereas, in 2013, President Trump said, ``Well, I've done a 
     lot of business with the Russians. They're smart and they're 
     tough,'' and President Trump's son, Donald Trump, Jr., told a 
     news outlet in 2008 that ``Russians make up a pretty 
     disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets'';
       Whereas, President Trump fired Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation Director James Comey, who was overseeing an 
     investigation into ties and any collusion between the Russian 
     Government and President Trump's campaign;
       Whereas, former Director Comey testified before the Senate 
     Intelligence Committee that President Trump asked him to 
     ``let go'' of an investigation into former National Security 
     Advisor Michael Flynn's business ties to Russia;
       Whereas, President Trump stated on May 11, 2017, that he 
     had decided that he was going to fire Comey because of ``this 
     Russia thing'';
       Whereas, at the G-20 Hamburg summit on July 7, 2017, 
     President Trump took a more than 2 hour closed-door meeting 
     with President Vladimir Putin, after which he claimed that he 
     ``strongly pressed'' President Putin on Russian interference 
     in U.S. elections and that it is ``time to move forward'';
       Whereas, on June 9, 2016, then-Candidate Trump's son, 
     Donald Trump, Jr., then-Trump campaign chairman Paul 
     Manafort, and Trump son-in-law and current White House 
     adviser Jared Kushner met with a person described as ``a 
     Russian government attorney,'' and a former Russian military 
     intelligence officer who promised to offer incriminating 
     information about Hillary Clinton which had been collected as 
     part of a Russian Government effort to assist President Trump 
     in his campaign for President;
       Whereas, the Committee on Ways and Means has in the past 
     used the authority under section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 in 2014 to make public the confidential tax 
     information of 51 taxpayers;
       Whereas, the Committee on Ways and Means has now voted 
     three times along party lines to continue to conceal 
     President Trump's tax returns;
       Whereas, the House of Representatives has now refused ten 
     times to act on President Trump's tax returns;
       Whereas, the Committee on the Judiciary has failed to 
     conduct even basic oversight on the connections between the 
     Russian Government and the Trump campaign;
       Whereas, the Committee on the Judiciary has now voted twice 
     along party lines to decline to request documents detailing 
     the Trump administration's ties with Russian officials;
       Whereas, the House of Representatives undermines its 
     dignity and the integrity of its proceedings by continuing 
     the cover-up of President Trump's tax returns: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives shall--
       1. Immediately request the tax return and return 
     information of Donald J. Trump for tax years 2006 through 
     2015, as provided under section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986, as well as the tax return, and return 
     information with respect to the President's businesses, of 
     each business entity disclosed by Donald J. Trump on his 
     Office of Government Ethics Form 278e, specifically each 
     corporation and each partnership, within the meaning of 
     subchapter K of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986, where he is listed as an officer, director, or 
     equivalent, or exercises working control; and
       2. Postpone consideration of tax reform legislation until 
     the elected Representatives of the American people in this 
     House have obtained President Trump's tax returns and return 
     information to ascertain how any changes to the Tax Code 
     might financially benefit the President.

                              {time}  1330

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Rhode Island wish to 
present argument on the parliamentary question of whether the 
resolution

[[Page H5998]]

presents a question of the privileges of the House?
  Mr. CICILLINE. Yes.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized on the question 
of order.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, this resolution raises the question of 
the privilege of the House pursuant to rule IX, clause 1, as it 
affects, ``the rights of the House collectively, its dignity, and the 
integrity of its proceedings,'' insofar as it raises the House's 
failure to undertake its constitutional responsibility of oversight and 
the obligation of all elected officials to ensure decisions are made 
free of conflicts and with the public interest in mind.
  In particular, matters related to the House's constitutionally 
granted powers have been recognized as valid questions of the 
privileges of the House. The Origination Clause that requires that 
revenue bills originate in the House includes the issues related to 
revenues generated by our Tax Code.
  Clearly, the issues raised by this resolution cover these matters 
contemplated by the Origination Clause. There is nothing more of a 
threat to the integrity of the House than ignoring our duty to provide 
a check and balance to the executive branch.
  To restore the dignity of the House, we must use our authority to 
request President Trump's tax returns and give the American people the 
transparency they deserve.
  The stunning conflicts of interest are piling up as the President, 
his family, and his friends profit in their personal business endeavors 
while serving in public office. President Trump has not divested 
himself from his businesses as was recommended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman's remarks must be confined to 
the question of order.
  Mr. CICILLINE. I understand, Mr. Speaker. My point is, in order to 
rule on this, it is important for the Chair to understand that the 
severity of the questions with respect to the integrity of our 
proceedings are undermined because of the potential conflicts of 
interest and the lack of information about the tax returns and related 
materials of the President.
  So you can't make an argument about the rights of the House 
collectively, its dignity, and the integrity of the proceedings without 
understanding the presence, the evidence of the conflicts of interest, 
of the potential foreign entanglements, of the self-dealing that tax 
returns would reveal and help illuminate.
  You also can't protect the integrity of our responsibilities as a 
check on the executive branch without understanding that we have a 
responsibility to examine these financial interactions, the influence 
of the Russians, and interfering with our elections, the firing of 
Director Comey, the secret meetings between the President's campaign.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is again reminded to keep his 
remarks confined to the question of order.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I understand the ruling of the Chair with 
respect to confining my remarks. These remarks, in fact, relate 
directly to whether or not this resolution, which seeks the production 
of the President's tax returns, relate to ``the rights of the House 
collectively, its dignity, and the integrity of the proceedings.''
  What I am suggesting, Mr. Speaker, is that in order for the House to 
fulfill its responsibilities, its constitutional responsibilities of 
oversight, and check and balance on the executive branch and to 
faithfully honor our responsibilities under the Origination Clause that 
says the House is the place that revenue generation must begin--and we 
are contemplating a reform of the Tax Code--in order to do that, free 
from the potential conflicts of interest, the House and the American 
people have a right to know what are the real interests of President 
Trump, where are his investments, what are the tax policies, will they 
benefit him, or will they benefit the American people.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds the gentleman to confine 
his remarks to the question of order. The Chair is prepared to rule.
  The gentleman from Rhode Island seeks to offer a resolution as a 
question of the privileges of the House under rule IX.
  In evaluating the resolution under rule IX, the Chair must determine 
whether the resolution affects ``the rights of the House collectively, 
its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings.''
  The first resolving clause of the resolution offered by the gentleman 
from Rhode Island seeks tax returns and tax return information of the 
President and certain of his business entities.
  Section 702 of the House Rules and Manual states that ``rule IX is 
concerned not with the privileges of the Congress, as a legislative 
branch, but only with the privileges of the House, as a House.''
  As the Chair most recently ruled on June 21, 2017, a resolution 
offered under rule IX seeking information from actors entirely 
extramural to the House--such as the President and certain business 
entities in which the President may be involved--is not uniquely 
concerned with the privileges of the House, as a House.
  Accordingly, the resolution offered by the gentleman from Rhode 
Island does not constitute a question of privilege under rule IX.
  Mr. CICILLINE. 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. CHENEY. 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. Cheney moves that the appeal be laid 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. CICILLINE. 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 5-minute votes 
on:
  Ordering the previous question on House Resolution 454;
  Adopting House Resolution 454, if ordered; and
  Agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, if ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 235, 
nays 190, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 7, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 392]

                               YEAS--235

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     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
     Estes (KS)
     Farenthold
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Handel
     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)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     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
     Norman
     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

[[Page H5999]]


     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
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--190

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     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
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     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)
     Lawrence
     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
     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)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

     Sanford
       
       

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Cummings
     Gomez
     Huffman
     Labrador
     McEachin
     Napolitano
     Scalise

                              {time}  1401

  Ms. KAPTUR, Messrs. WELCH and PETERSON changed their vote from 
``yea'' to ``nay.''
  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.

                          ____________________