Peter Roskam: “I want to thank Chairman Brady for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. Just to put this into context…”

“I want to thank Chairman Brady for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. Just to put this into context, let's focus in on what we are really talking about. Every year, tax exempt 501(c) organizations fill out a form 990, and they send it to the IRS. So far, so good. It makes all the sense in the world. Public information. It is supposed to be public, and the public is able to review that. Under current law--actually, it is a rule; it is not a statute, it is a rule--501(c) organizations have to fill out Schedule B. Okay, what is Schedule B? Schedule B is donor information. This donor information is submitted to the IRS. But here is the problem, Mr. Speaker. The IRS Commissioner has said: We don't think we need this actually. The person who is in charge of the tax exempt unit at the IRS has publicly said they are reviewing this. If all the other claims were true--I mean, I got carpal tunnel syndrome writing down all these things: hidden money, crisis in campaigns, codify secrecy, last safeguard against foreign influence. Put up the ramparts, Mr. Speaker. If all that was true, then why would the IRS Commissioner be saying these things, that they don't think they need Schedule B? And further, why wouldn't the White House just declaratively say they are going to veto it? But did you notice something, Mr. Speaker? The White House didn't say they would veto it. Why? This is a pretty good idea.…”