[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 27, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1508-S1509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Nomination of Michael J. Desmond

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today in opposition to President 
Trump's nominee for Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, 
Michael Desmond.
  This nominee comes before us just a week into this year's filing 
season, when our need for an IRS that treats all taxpayers fairly is 
clearer than ever.
  Already, thousands of taxpayers across America are grappling with the 
fallout of the Trump tax bill and its capping of the State and local 
tax, or SALT, deduction. Already, the IRS has reported an average 17 
percent drop in the size of tax refunds this year. Already, the broken 
promises made by President Trump and his Republican allies are being 
laid bare.
  They promised middle-class families thousands of dollars of tax 
relief and a $4,000 raise in their salaries. Instead, they got $1.5 
trillion in more debt and an economy that is even more rigged for big 
corporations and wealthy CEOs.
  As bad as the Trump tax scam is for the whole country, it is worse 
for New Jersey families. That is because Republicans paid for a big 
chunk of their corporate giveaways by gutting the State and local tax 
deduction that New Jersey and other States' middle-class families 
depend on to write off their property taxes. In 2016, 1.8 million 
people--about 40 percent of New Jersey taxpayers--deducted their 
property and State income taxes. More than 80 percent of them earned 
less than $200,000, and the average deduction totaled $18,000--far 
above the arbitrary cap imposed by the Trump tax bill.
  With tax season under way, many homeowners are just now realizing how 
badly their President ripped them off. To add insult to injury, the IRS 
issued haphazard guidance for the Trump tax bill that unfairly targets 
States like New Jersey, trying to simply lessen the burden heaped on 
them by the GOP.
  In the final days of 2017, just days after President Trump signed the 
tax bill, New Jerseyans rushed to prepay their 2018 local property 
taxes and preserve their deductions before the new cap on the SALT 
deductions took effect. But then came Trump's IRS, which issued 
guidance to try to limit their ability to deduct property tax payments 
made in 2017 on their Federal returns--a stunning backdoor attempt to 
retroactively apply the cap on property tax deductions without cleared 
legislative tax to warrant doing so.

[[Page S1509]]

  Months later, the IRS again changed the rules on us by attacking New 
Jersey's new charitable deduction tax credit program. The IRS never had 
a problem when 32 other States offered tax credits for charitable 
donations. Only when New Jersey and other similarly situated States 
created a similar program did the IRS decide to change the rules.
  Mr. Desmond would be the Chief Counsel of the IRS, the position 
directly overseeing the IRS's interpretation of these rule changes. 
Throughout his nomination, I was given no indication that Mr. Desmond 
would give fair treatment on these important issues affecting New 
Jersey and other States.
  The full deductibility of State and local taxes has been a bedrock 
principle of our Tax Code since the income tax's creation in 1913, and 
that concept stretches all the way back to Alexander Hamilton's 
writings about the autonomy of States under the U.S. Constitution.
  This commonsense policy allows States to invest in things like public 
safety, education, and infrastructure--the very things that make New 
Jersey a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
  Make no mistake, the property tax deduction isn't just important for 
homeowners. It matters to all New Jersey families. It is why our public 
schools rank among the best in the Nation. It is why Save the Children 
named us the No. 1 State in America to raise a child. I want it to stay 
that way.
  We must protect the investments that make New Jersey a place where 
families thrive. That is why last month I introduced bipartisan 
legislation to fully restore the State and local tax deduction. It is 
called the SALT Act, which stands for ``Stop the Attack on Local 
Taxpayers.'' It is no secret that in New Jersey and in many of the 
Nation's most economically productive States, families face high 
property tax bills and a higher cost of living. Our bill is designed to 
provide some relief. Simply put, the more you pay in property and State 
taxes, the more relief you get from our bill, and we help pay for it by 
repealing some of Trump's most unnecessary tax breaks for the 
superwealthy. It is the exact opposite of what the Trump tax bill says, 
which is, basically that the higher the cost of living is in your 
State, the more you pay in State and local taxes and the more you will 
owe to the Federal Government. That makes no sense.
  Make no mistake, President Trump and his administration and the IRS 
have it out for States like New Jersey. Mr. Desmond would be the 
arbiter of how the IRS would interpret important tax issues affecting 
these States. That is why I oppose his nomination.
  I yield back my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture time 
has expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Desmond 
nomination?
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Florida (Mr. Scott).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Florida (Mr. Scott) 
would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 83, nays 15, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 31 Ex.]

                                YEAS--83

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blackburn
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Heinrich
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rosen
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--15

     Booker
     Duckworth
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hirono
     Klobuchar
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Warren
     Whitehouse

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Scott (FL)
     Sinema
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is made and laid upon the table.
  The President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________