[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4444-4445]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I rise 
to give notice of my intention 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 can be influenced by foreign entities and reveal any 
conflicts of interest;
  Whereas, Article I, section 9 of the Constitution states that no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without 
the consent of Congress, accept any present, emolument, Office or 
Title, of any kind whatever from any King, Prince, or foreign State;
  Whereas, disclosure of the President's tax returns is important 
towards investigating Russian influence in the 2016 election, 
understanding 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 Russian nationals, formally or informally 
associated with Vladmir Putin;
  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, General Michael Flynn, former national security adviser of 
President Trump, received almost $68,000 in fees and expenses from 
Russian entities in 2015, including by an entity recognized by U.S. 
intelligence agencies as an arm of the Russian Government;
  Whereas, FBI Director Comey stated in the Select Intelligence 
Committee hearing on the Russian interference with the November 2016 
election that ``there is no information to support those tweets,'' 
relating to President's Trump allegations that President Obama 
illegally wiretapped the Trump campaign;
  Whereas, distracting investigators with dead-end leads and outrageous 
statements is a common tactic from those with a guilty conscience or in 
a

[[Page 4445]]

deliberate effort to throw off investigators;
  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, 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, the chairman on 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 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. Under rule IX, a resolution offered from the 
floor by a Member other than the majority leader or the minority leader 
as a question of the privileges of the House has immediate precedence 
only at a time designated by the Chair within 2 legislative days after 
the resolution is properly noticed.
  Pending that designation, the form of the resolution noticed by the 
gentleman from Colorado will appear in the Record at this point.
  The Chair will not at this point determine whether the resolution 
constitutes a question of privilege. That determination will be made at 
the time designated for consideration of the resolution.


                        Parliamentary Inquiries

  Mr. POLIS. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Colorado will state his 
parliamentary inquiry.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, previous motions by Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Pascrell, 
and Mr. Crowley were ruled upon immediately. What is different about 
today's resolution?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will inform the gentleman of the 
scheduling, as stated earlier, within the limits of rule IX.
  Mr. POLIS. Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, does today's hearing of the Select Committee 
on Intelligence provide additional relevant information to the Speaker 
in order to make this decision?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The leadership will give the gentleman 
timely notice of the scheduling of his resolution.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, one additional parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, does delaying consideration of this 
resolution mean that we won't even vote on whether we can find out if 
the President has financial ties to a foreign entity for 2 more days?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Recognition for a parliamentary inquiry is 
within the discretion of the Chair. The gentleman is no longer 
recognized.
  The Chair is prepared to resume proceedings on votes postponed 
earlier today.

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