[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3066-3069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   NOTICE OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING A QUESTION OF THE 
                        PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I 
rise to

[[Page 3067]]

give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of the 
House.
  The form of the resolution is as follows:
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
President shall immediately disclose his tax return information to 
Congress and the American people.
  Whereas, in the United States' system of checks and balances, 
Congress has a responsibility to hold the executive branch of 
government to the highest standard of transparency to ensure the public 
interest is placed first;
  Whereas, according to the Tax History Project, every President since 
Gerald Ford has disclosed their tax return information to the public;
  Whereas, tax returns provide an important baseline disclosure because 
they contain highly instructive information including whether the 
candidate paid taxes, what they own, what they have borrowed and from 
whom, whether they have made any charitable donations, and whether they 
have taken advantage of tax loopholes;
  Whereas, disclosure of the President's tax returns could help those 
investigating Russian influence in the 2016 election understand the 
President's financial ties to the Russian Federation and Russian 
citizens, including debts owed and whether he shares any partnership 
interests, equity interests, joint ventures or licensing agreements 
with Russia or Russians;
  Whereas, The New York Times has reported that President Trump's close 
senior advisers, including Carter Page, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and 
General Michael Flynn, have been under investigation by the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation for their ties to the Russian Federation;
  Whereas, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told 
Interfax, a Russian media outlet, on November 10, 2016 that ``there 
were contacts'' with Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, and it has been 
reported that members of President Trump's inner circle were in contact 
with senior Russian officials throughout the 2016 campaign;
  Whereas, according to his 2016 candidate filing with the Federal 
Election Commission, the President has 564 financial positions in 
companies located in the United States and around the world;
  Whereas, against the advice of ethics attorneys and the Office of 
Government Ethics, the President has refused to divest his ownership 
stake in his businesses;
  Whereas, the director of the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics 
said that the President's plan to transfer his business holdings to a 
trust managed by family members is ``meaningless'' and ``does not meet 
the standards that . . . every president in the past four decades has 
met'';
  Whereas, the Emoluments Clause was included in the U.S. Constitution 
for the express purpose of preventing federal officials from accepting 
any ``present, Emolument, Office, or Title . . . from any King, Prince, 
or foreign state'';
  Whereas, according to The Washington Post, the Trump International 
Hotel in Washington, D.C., has hired a ``director of diplomatic sales'' 
to generate high-priced business among foreign leaders and diplomatic 
delegations;
  Whereas, according to The New York Times, the President used a 
legally dubious tax maneuver in 1995 that could have allowed him to 
avoid paying federal taxes for 18 years;
  Whereas, the most signed petition on the White House website calls 
for the release of the President's tax return information to verify 
compliance with the Emoluments Clause, with 1,074,000 signatures as of 
date of this resolution;
  Whereas, the chairmen of the Ways and Means Committee, Joint 
Committee on Taxation, and Senate Finance Committee have the authority 
to request the President's tax returns under, Section 6103 of the tax 
code;
  Whereas, the Joint Committee on Taxation reviewed the tax returns of 
President Richard Nixon in 1974 and made the information public;
  Whereas, the Ways and Means Committee used IRC 6103 authority in 2014 
to make public the confidential tax information of 51 taxpayers;
  Whereas, the American people have the right to know whether or not 
their President is operating under conflicts of interest related to 
international affairs, tax reform, government contracts, or otherwise:
  Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the House of Representatives 
shall, one, immediately request the tax return information of Donald J. 
Trump for tax years 2006 through 2015 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; two, support transparency 
in government and the longstanding tradition of Presidents and 
Presidential candidates disclosing their tax returns.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The Chair will now recognize 
the gentleman from New Jersey to offer the resolution just noticed. 
Does the gentleman offer the resolution?
  Mr. PASCRELL. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I offer my resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               Resolution

       Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
     the President shall immediately disclose his tax return 
     information to Congress and the American people.
       Whereas, in the United States' system of checks and 
     balances, Congress has a responsibility to hold the Executive 
     Branch of government to the highest standard of transparency 
     to ensure the public interest is placed first;
       Whereas, according to the Tax History Project, every 
     President since Gerald Ford has disclosed their tax return 
     information to the public;
       Whereas, tax returns provide an important baseline 
     disclosure/because they contain highly instructive 
     information including whether the candidate paid taxes, what 
     they own, what they have borrowed and from whom, whether they 
     have made any charitable donations, and whether they have 
     taken advantage of tax loopholes;
       Whereas, disclosure of the President's tax returns could 
     help those investigating Russian influence in the 2016 
     election understand the President's financial ties to the 
     Russian Federation and Russian citizens, including debts owed 
     and whether he shares any partnership interests, equity 
     interests, joint ventures or licensing agreements with Russia 
     or Russians;
       Whereas, the New York Times has reported that President 
     Trump's close senior advisers, including Carter Page, Paul 
     Manafort, Roger Stone, and General Michael Flynn, have been 
     under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
     for their ties to the Russian Federation;
       Whereas, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov 
     told Interfax, a Russian media outlet, on November 10, 2016 
     that ``there were contacts'' with Donald Trump's 2016 
     campaign, and it has been reported that members of President 
     Trump's inner circle were in contact with senior Russian 
     officials throughout the 2016 campaign;
       Whereas, according to his 2016 candidate filing with the 
     Federal Election Commission, the President has 564 financial 
     positions in companies located in the United States and 
     around the world;
       Whereas, against the advice of ethics attorneys and the 
     Office of Government Ethics, the President has refused to 
     divest his ownership stake in his businesses;
       Whereas, the director of the nonpartisan Office of 
     Government Ethics said that the President's plan to transfer 
     his business holdings to a trust managed by family members is 
     ``meaningless'' and ``does not meet the standards . . . that 
     every president in the past four decades has met'';
       Whereas, the Emoluments Clause was included in the U.S. 
     Constitution for the express purpose of preventing federal 
     officials from accepting any ``present, Emolument, Office, or 
     Title . . . from any King, Prince, or foreign state'';
       Whereas, according to the Washington Post, the Trump 
     International Hotel in Washington, D.C. has hired a 
     ``director of diplomatic sales'' to generate high-priced 
     business among foreign leaders and diplomatic delegations;
       Whereas, according to the New York Times, the President 
     used a legally dubious tax maneuver in 1995 that could have 
     allowed him to avoid paying federal taxes for 18 years;
       Whereas, the most signed petition on the White House 
     website calls for the release of the President's tax return 
     information to verify compliance with the Emoluments Clause, 
     with 1 million, 74 thousand signatures as of date of this 
     resolution;
       Whereas, the Chairmen of the Ways and Means Committee, 
     Joint Committee on Taxation, and Senate Finance Committee 
     have

[[Page 3068]]

     the authority to request the President's tax returns under 
     Section 6103 of the tax code;
       Whereas, the Joint Committee on Taxation reviewed the tax 
     returns of President Richard Nixon in 1974 and made the 
     information public;
       Whereas, the Ways and Means Committee used IRC 6103 
     authority in 2014 to make public the confidential tax 
     information of 51 taxpayers;
       Whereas, the American people have the right to know whether 
     or not their President is operating under conflicts of 
     interest related to international affairs, tax reform, 
     government contracts, or otherwise: Now, therefore, be it:
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives shall--
       1. Immediately request the tax return information of Donald 
     J. Trump for tax years 2006 through 2015 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
       2. Support transparency in government and the longstanding 
     tradition of Presidents and Presidential candidates 
     disclosing their tax returns.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from New Jersey wish to 
present argument on the parliamentary question whether the resolution 
presents a question of the privileges of the House?
  Mr. PASCRELL. Yes, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Jersey.
  Mr. PASCRELL. 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.''
  There is nothing more of a threat to the integrity of this 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 American people demand, Mr. Speaker, to know the full scope of 
the President's financial background. Article I, Section 9 of the 
Constitution includes a clause prohibiting foreign emoluments to the 
President.
  The Office of Government Ethics--I can't stress this enough--has 
warned us about the President's decision not to divest or set up a 
blind trust. And there is a need to fully understand the President's 
ties to Russia.
  The resolution I am offering can provide the transparency to help 
ease the concerns of Americans across the Nation. The Internal Revenue 
Code includes language laying out a path for the Ways and Means 
Committee to obtain the tax returns and review them in a respectful 
manner, and there is the precedent of that provision being used.
  Mr. Speaker, that decision to put this into the code in 1924 was a 
result of the very famous scandal of 1923, the Teapot Dome, from Teapot 
Rock, Wyoming, under President Harding. He died, unfortunately, and 
never saw the end of this scandal.
  People committed murder in this scandal. People sold off American 
reserves in this scandal. So, they put it into the IRS Code for a very, 
very specific reason, so the people have a right to know.
  A growing number of Members and Senators from both parties have been 
saying we should have the President's tax returns. The House must 
demonstrate--and this is my deep feeling here, not as a Democrat, but 
as an American citizen, Mr. Speaker--we must demonstrate that its 
Members are listening to our constituents' concerns. The House must 
demonstrate that it cares about protecting the integrity of our 
government, of our Constitution, of our system of checks and balances.
  Let's shine a bright light on the President's conflicts together, 
together, as we, as a Congress, and the broader American public can 
judge whether his decisions are being made for himself, his business 
interests, or for the greater good of the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your indulgences, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule.
  The gentleman from New Jersey 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, its dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings.''
  As demonstrated by section 706 of the House Rules and Manual, a 
resolution providing an order of business, such as by directing a 
committee to meet and conduct certain business, does not qualify as a 
question of the privileges of the House.
  The resolution offered by the gentleman from New Jersey 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. Accordingly, the 
resolution does not qualify as a question of the privileges of the 
House.
  Mr. PASCRELL. 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

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

       Mr. McCarthy 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.


                             Recorded Vote

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was 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 suspending the rules and passing H.R. 863.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 229, 
noes 185, answered ``present'' 2, not voting 14, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 101]

                               AYES--229

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     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
     Chaffetz
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     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
     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)
     Labrador
     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
     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)
     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)

[[Page 3069]]


     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

                               NOES--185

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     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)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     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
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     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
     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
     Yarmuth

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--2

     Jones
     Sanford
       

                             NOT VOTING--14

     Barton
     Butterfield
     Crawford
     Ellison
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hunter
     Lofgren
     Meng
     Messer
     Rohrabacher
     Rush
     Wilson (FL)
     Zinke

                              {time}  1927

  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.

                          ____________________