AP: Republicans red-faced over tax-disclosure gaffe

Lawmakers pledge to repeal law granting them access to returns
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:51 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2004

WASHINGTON - Congress debated legislation Saturday giving two committee chairman and their assistants access to income tax returns without regard to privacy protections, but not before red-faced Republicans said it was all a mistake and would be swiftly repealed.

“This is a serious situation,� said Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. He said he was unaware of the provision, inserted into a 3,300-page spending bill covering most federal agencies and programs.

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“We weren’t born yesterday, we didn’t come down with the first snow,� said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. “This isn’t poorly thought out, this was very deliberately thought out and it was done in the dead of night.�

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Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the measure will “bring us back to the doorstep to the days of President Nixon, President Truman and other dark days in our history when taxpayer information was used against political enemies.�

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http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6541484/

Anyone with thoughts on this one? More discussion at www.talkingpointsmemo.com

I don't always agree with her, but I'm proud of her for jumping on this one!

:loveya:

Goodness,they just had no idea who would do such a thing.

Caught.

Is it possible our legislators are actually reading the bills they vote on since F9/11 made a point of it?

Things like this will chip away at the solidarity of the GOP stronghold. It's too bad that they waited until AFTER the election to get things done. As strange and offensive as it may be, our only hope for the next 2 years is the GOP, and by this I mean that the GOP will fragment. The radicals are getting so crooked and extreme that they will drive away the moderate Republicans (real Republicans, not Neo-cons). It happened in 2001 with Senator Jeffords, and it happened in Montana this year, where local Republicans endorsed the Democratic candidate. I just hope that the GOP Lite™ we have posing as Democrats will get a clue and stop supporting the Neo-con agenda.

Please add this article to the previous thread if it offers new information.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1009068