On the recordApril 18, 2018
I thank the gentleman, my good friend, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule, and I want to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to defeat the previous question so the House can vote on my bipartisan--I want to emphasize that, bipartisan--legislation entitled, the ``Presidential Tax Transparency Act.'' This bill codifies the longstanding bipartisan tradition of Presidents and Presidential nominees disclosing their tax return information to the American people. Now, as was said previously, yesterday was tax day, and it is an important reminder that, as millions of Americans fulfill their duty to file their income tax returns, the President of the United States of America still refuses to release his tax returns to the American people. I think holding the highest office in the land demands transparency, yet the President refuses to honor what promotes trust with the American people. And as I said, both Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates, going back to Richard Nixon, all voluntarily put their tax returns out to the American people. Why? To establish trust that they were transparent and that the American people could see whether there were any potential conflicts of interest and many other things, because tax returns are highly instructive. As I said, that has gone on for decades.…
