[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12848-12849]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PRESIDENTIAL TAX TRANSPARENCY ACT

  Ms. WARREN. Madam President, I am on the floor today to talk about 
the Presidential Tax Transparency Act. It is a simple proposal that 
would require every Presidential candidate of a major party to release 
their tax returns. Hillary Clinton has already done it. In fact, every 
single general election candidate in the past nine elections has done 
it.
  I will be honest. This is not the kind of legislation that I thought 
Congress would ever need to pass, but, like a lot of people, I never 
thought that someone like Donald Trump would be the nominee of a major 
political party. Donald Trump makes a big show, strutting around, 
pretending to be tough, but he is too chicken to show his tax returns 
to the American people. He has had a million excuses, but we all know 
why Donald Trump isn't releasing his taxes. He is hiding something.
  For a long time I wasn't sure what he was hiding. But thanks to the 
tireless work of journalists and experts, we at least have some clues 
about what he is hiding. We don't know everything, but slowly some of 
his secrets are starting to leak to the public, and they are not 
pretty.
  Let's start with the tax scams that we know about. Here are just 
three of them.
  The first scam is claiming tax credits for homeowners who make less 
than $500,000 a year. He wasn't eligible, so he lied--nothing fancy. 
Eventually, the press caught wind of it, and Trump paid up. And if he 
hadn't been caught, he would still be lying about it today.
  Here is another Trump tax scam. Scoop up hundreds of millions of 
dollars in real estate developer subsidies, then skip out on paying any 
income taxes. In 1978, 1979, 1991, and 1993, Trump paid zero dollars in 
income taxes--zero, and that is not a comprehensive list of his zero-
tax years. It is just the years when, for one reason or another, his 
tax returns were public.
  Here is the third Trump tax scam. In this campaign, Trump claims the 
charitable deduction when he gives money

[[Page 12849]]

to his own foundation, and then he uses that foundation for personal 
expenses and campaign fundraising.
  That is just the stuff we know about. So how bad are the things we 
don't know about? The American people should see Donald Trump's tax 
returns so they can decide for themselves if his shameful and, in some 
cases, illegal behavior disqualifies him from being President.
  The tax scams are awful, but they are a sideshow compared to what 
else is probably tucked away in his tax returns. Those tax returns 
would show his personal deals with foreign governments, arrangements 
that could put him in direct conflict with American interests.
  We already know about some of Trump's foreign dealings. We know he 
has gotten Russian oligarchs with close ties to Vladimir Putin to fund 
his businesses. Is he still doing that?
  We know he has financial ties to political dynasties in Turkey. We 
know he is wrapped up in aggressive pipeline plans in North and East 
India.
  The list of countries where Trump has financial conflicts is 
staggering: South Korea, India, Turkey, Libya, Russia, Ukraine, United 
Arab Emirates.
  Remember the Libyan dictator Qadhafi. Back in 2009, Trump was set to 
lease his own estate to the dictator, but local protests shut that 
down. So who else has he been leasing his home to--Putin? I mean, maybe 
Trump's next business will be Airbnb for dictators.
  Tax returns will not tell us everything, but we know that they will 
tell us something about what Trump is hiding. Donald Trump praises 
brutal dictators and murderers. He threatens our allies. He denigrates 
democracy right here at home. He is right out front with all of that 
stuff.
  What is so bad that Donald Trump has to hide it? Would his tax 
returns show how deeply Donald Trump's personal, financial interests 
run directly counter to the national interests of the United States of 
America?
  It is 8 weeks before a national election. Everyone wants Donald Trump 
to do what other candidates--Republican candidates and Democratic 
candidates--have done and disclose his financial information to the 
American people.
  George W. Bush's IRS Commissioner has said: Trump should release his 
taxes, period.
  The IRS Chief Counsel for Ronald Reagan has said the same thing: 
Trump should release his taxes, period.
  Ted Cruz has released his taxes. John Kasich released his taxes. Jeb 
Bush released his taxes going all the way back to 1981.
  Look, it is no surprise that Trump thinks the rules don't apply to 
him; he never does. But the American people are not going to buy a pig 
in a poke. He should release his taxes voluntarily. But since he will 
not, then we should pass the Presidential Tax Transparency Act and make 
him release those taxes.
  No one knows what he is up to with Russia, Libya, or any other 
country. Let's take a look at his taxes and find out.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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