Max Baucus: “Yes, those were the halcyon days when this country was represented really well. But I might say the provision we have…”

“Yes, those were the halcyon days when this country was represented really well. But I might say the provision we have been discussing; namely, the degree to which Members of Congress should have access to any American's income tax returns, is really an outgrowth of the Nixon years. That is, in the Watergate years, when too many Government officials had access to individuals' income tax returns and we enacted so-called Watergate reforms, one of the reforms was a section in the code which basically provides that no one in Congress has access to any American income tax return--as well they should not--except for the chairman of the Finance Committee and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the committees that have jurisdiction over our tax laws. Someone might ask, why should they have jurisdiction? Why should the chairman of the Finance Committee have the right to look into an individual's tax returns? That is a question that should be asked very seriously and it is one we should take very seriously. But the reason that is in the law today is so the Finance Committee can exercise jurisdiction or proper oversight over our Tax Code, especially looking into how companies, maybe individuals but certainly companies, use the tax system to shelter their income--what do they do; how do they do it--so we in the Congress can enact legislation that closes those loopholes. That is what we have done.…”