Slowly but surely, House Democrats have been signing on to support an impeachment inquiry of President Trump. Even moderate Democrats in swing districts are beginning to call for the inquiry, no doubt thanks to the persistent activism of folks in their home districts during summer recess. On Thursday, the 135th Democrat came out in support of impeachment hearings, which made a report today about a key part of the Democratic oversight strategy particularly disheartening.
In short, because House Ways and Means Committee chair Richard Neal has been so slow and reluctant in his attempts to get Trump’s tax returns — he filed his lawsuit very late and hasn’t taken advantage of a New York law that allows the state to hand over the tax returns if requested — it’s looking increasingly likely that they’re not going to come out before 2020.
From the Washington Post:
Neal’s discomfort in confronting the Trump administration has been apparent in internal meetings of the Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee, according to the House Democrat involved in oversight and an aide to a House lawmaker on the committee speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly without fear of professional repercussions. When discussing the subject of the tax returns, Neal frequently tells stories of bipartisan cooperation under former Ways and Means Committee leaders, particularly Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), pining for an era of political comity that others on the committee believe no longer exists, these people said.
“You could just tell from his body language, and everything else since then, that he has no enthusiasm for dealing with the tax returns issue,” said one House Democratic lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly address the issue.
In an interview, committee member Pascrell said that he and Neal have not “agreed on a number of decisions” and that he asked the chairman “questions about the expedience and the delays I saw.”
This should come as no surprise — Neal has been in the House for 30 years and is one of the most conservative Democrats in the caucus, especially given the makeup of his Massachusetts district. He is perhaps the most corporation-friendly Democrat in the House, using his position as the chair of the most powerful committee in the chamber to fight for their rights to make ungodly profits, and earning millions in campaign donations in exchange.
Here’s a nice little nugget from The American Prospect:
Reporting from Prospect Executive Editor David Dayen indicates that Neal’s light touch on Trump’s taxes sprung from a desire to get his support for a bill called the SECURE Act that would allow annuities lucrative access to 401(k) retirement accounts. He deliberately timed his formal request for Trump’s taxes until the day after passing the SECURE Act through his committee. The bill would benefit many of Neal’s biggest donors: life insurance companies that manage annuity products. The SECURE Act bogged down in the Senate over an unrelated issue, thwarting Neal’s big plans for a gift to corporations.
In a recent Ways and Means committee bill, Neal supported an expansion of the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit over two years, but he objected to paying for it by increasing the corporate income tax rate by one point. This is a classic example of how Democrats can use the legislative process to contrast their priorities and goals with Republican and corporate ones—and Neal is on the wrong side.
Neal is the exact kind of old-school, corporate-owned Democrat that has been thwarting progress and giving Dems a bad name for years. Luckily, he’s being primaried by a bright, inspiring young candidate: 30-year-old Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who has helped turn around a dying mill town through policies that empower working people.
Unemployment has plummeted while high school graduation rates have increased. He was even able to return rail service to a city that hadn’t been a blip on Amtrak’s map since the ‘60s. He’s been a leader on climate and clean energy, too. He’s an exciting young organizer and leader and would be infinitely better than Neal as both an advocate for his district and symbol for the greater Democratic Party.
Neal has a huge war chest — he raised nearly $500K from corporations in the first half of 2019 alone — so Morse can use all the help he can get.
You can CLICK HERE to donate to Morse’s campaign!