Support H.Res.186 for Trump’s Tax Returns

From Indivisible Guide’s Facebook feed:

On Friday, March 10th, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced a Resolution of Inquiry directing the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to the House of Representatives President Trump’s tax returns for tax years 2006 through 2015, as well as financial documentation that details debts held by foreign governments and foreign companies; investments in foreign countries and foreign enterprises; and use of any tax shelters, corporate structures, tax avoidance maneuvers, abatements, or other loopholes to reduce or eliminate tax liability. H.Res.186 (this is different than a normal HR bill).

If the House Ways and Means Committee does not schedule Rep. Pascrell’s Resolution of Inquiry for a markup within 14 legislative days, it becomes a Privileged Resolution and can be brought to the floor in front of the full House for a vote. In other words, no matter what, members of the Ways and Means Committee will have to go on record with a vote.

A portion of the U.S. tax code, Section 6103(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, allows the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Senate Committee on Finance, and the Joint Committee on Taxation to make such a request to allow members of the committee to review the tax documents of any individual in closed session and consider their public release. This move would allow for important Congressional oversight of potential conflicts of interest, which up to this point has not been possible because of the President’s refusal to release his tax returns. #CongressMustRequest

A Resolution of Inquiry is a legislative tool that has privileged parliamentary status, meaning it can be brought to the floor if the relevant Committee hasn’t reported it within 14 legislative days, even if the Majority leadership has not scheduled it for a vote. Once introduced, the Committee must schedule a Markup in that set time, which means there has to be debate and the Committee must vote on the Resolution. The Committee can report the Resolution “unfavorably” after Markup to prevent it from going to the floor, otherwise it can be raised for a vote before the full House of Representatives.

Call your Representative. Each and every single one should be a co-sponsor on Mr. Pascrell’s Resolution of Inquiry, yet as of right now, only 62 are: https://www.congress.gov/…/…/house-resolution/186/cosponsors.