CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE COMMENDS THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE ON ITS LAWSUIT DEMANDING PRODUCTION OF THE PRESIDENT’S TAX RETURNS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Robin K. Chand
July 2, 2019 202-225-3816
Press Statement
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Commends the House Ways and Means Committee on its Lawsuit Demanding Production of the President's Tax Returns
Jackson Lee: "In addition to increasing the annual deficit, the national debt and savaging the social safety net, the tax scam was also opposable because the President had not produced his tax returns. Thus it was impossible to judge his motives and to determine whether he was acting in the country's best interest or in his own. Today's lawsuit is a welcome first step to procuring the compliance of this president with our nation's political traditions. And, it should be noted that today's lawsuit did not occur in a vacuum. The Ways and Means Committee, led by Chairman Richard Neal, has previously requested and then subpoenaed the tax returns. Both formal and informal requests were not met with hostility and noncompliance. Therefore, I applaud the filing of the lawsuit and commend the committee's chairman for the move."
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, senior Member of the House Committees on Budget, Judiciary and Homeland Security released this statement following the filing of a lawsuit by the House Ways and Means Committee for the production of the President's tax returns:
"Earlier today, the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means filed suit in federal district court to secure the production of the tax returns of the president. I applaud this decision and look forward to their production. Since the Nixon administration—the last time our nation was mired in a similar political and ethical morass caused and exacerbated by a president—every candidate for the highest office in the land has released many years of her or his tax returns. This is done for three reasons: to demonstrate to the American people that the individual seeking the presidency is free from any financial conflicts of interest; to ensure that the individual has complied with the laws that she or he will oversee once elected; and to permit transparency for the American people so that they can be sure that decisions that are made by our federal government are done for the benefit of all Americans, and not to line the pockets of the head of government. This tradition, like too many others, has been broken by the current occupant of the White House. This is alarming for many reasons.
"First, there are credible news accounts from reputable news organizations, like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, that report that the president has not paid any income taxes for many years. And, it also follows other credible reporting which indicates that an appreciable portion of the president's money is unreported to federal authorities, and washes through foreign hands and entities. The need to see the President's tax returns is plainly manifest following passage by Congressional Republicans of the GOP's tax scam, a tax cut which transferred the overwhelming majority of the benefits from the middle class to the richest one percent, to the detriment of hardworking Americans. Since well before the tax scam passed, House Democrats raised the alarm that this tax cut would divert resources from critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Democrats also warned that the GOP tax scam would explode the deficit and the national debt. Finally, those opposed to the tax scam indicated that the GOP would use the ballooning deficit and debt as pretext to tear apart the country's social safety net, starting with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Congressional Republicans ignored these warnings and passed the tax scam.
"In addition to increasing the annual deficit, the national debt and savaging the social safety net, the tax scam was also opposable because the President had not produced his tax returns. Thus it was impossible to judge his motives and to determine whether he was acting in the country's best interest or in his own. Today's lawsuit is a welcome first step to procuring the compliance of this president with our nation's political traditions. And, it should be noted that today's lawsuit did not occur in a vacuum. The Ways and Means Committee, led by Chairman Richard Neal, has previously requested and then subpoenaed the tax returns. Both formal and informal requests were not met with hostility and noncompliance. Therefore, I applaud the filing of the lawsuit and commend the committee's chairman for the move.
"When voters went to the polls in November, they sought a better deal for the people. Since the beginning of the 116th Congress, the House of Representatives has been delivering on this promise. One of the tenets of that better deal was a charge to root out corruption from our government. Today's law suit is another step in that mandate.
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Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is a Democrat from Texas's 18th Congressional District. She is a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security.