Wyden Introduces Presidential Tax Transparency Act on Senate Floor

Ron Wyden, the Democratic Senator from Oregon, brought to the floor today the Presidential Tax Transparency Act.

The legislation would codify into law disclosure of a minimum of three years of tax returns by candidates running for the presidency as the nominees of the two respective major parties.

The act amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971(2 U.S.C. § 431).

If a candidate does not comply with the requirement in a timely fashion, the Secretary of the Treasury would have the power to disclose the candidate’s returns to the public.

Wyden, who is the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, noted that those nominated by Presidents to positions in the Executive Department are already required to submit three years of their tax returns as part of the hiring process.

Likening the presidential election process to a job interview with the American people, Wyden asked why a potential president should not be held to the same standards as the employees who would work underneath them.

Ron Wyden did not refer to Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump in his speech on the Senate floor, but it is clear this bill has been brought in response to the businessman’s refusal to release his tax returns to the public. Trump, who is under audit by the IRS, has said it would be unwise to comply with the longstanding disclosure norm.

Senator Coats Cites Marine One Boondoggle in 45th ‘Waste of the Week’ Report

Senator Daniel Coats(R-IN) gave his “Waste of the Week” report today. The topic was the $4.7 Billion spent on updating Marine One with nothing to show for the money spent. The helicopter is used by the president for short air trips, and transport to Air Force One.

He spoke of the impact of waste, fraud, & abuse has on the amount of discretionary budget available for proper spending, and linked that issue with what he characterized as “out-of-control” entitlement spending.

Part of the issue, said Coats, was an eagerness on the part of acquisitions programs, and also of defense contractors’ internal policies of “just getting things going.” That strategy is marked by the assumption that once a project is initiated and large sums of money spent, Congress will be reluctant to terminate it with nothing to show as a result.

The Defense Department’s Acquisitions arm has been on the GAO’s annual ‘High-Risk’ report for several years now.

While Coats did not mention the unchained spending risks associated with Cost-Plus contracts, Senator John McCain(R-AR), Chairman of the Armed Services committee talked of the procurement process’s  need for reformation earlier this week as a part of fiscal year 2017’s National Defense Authorization Act.