The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on April 9, 2019, held separate hearings to hear from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on their respective budget requests.

Much of the attention during the morning hearing with Secretary Mnuchin was on Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal's (D-MA) request for President Trump's tax returns. Secretary Mnuchin said the April 3 request is under review but told reporters after the hearing it is a "good guess" that he will respond by tomorrow's deadline. "It would be premature for me to comment specifically what they are reviewing on or what they're not reviewing on," he said, referring to Administration lawyers.

Chairman Mike Quigley (D-IL) suggested there is a reason that presidents release their tax returns and there is a trade-off regarding privacy when someone runs for president. Secretary Mnuchin said the difference is previous presidents released their returns on a voluntary basis. The request was derided by Republican members. Ranking Member Tom Graves (R-GA) said the returns request "is a political stunt by the new majority, who just couldn't wait to get a gavel" and who just want to "peek in a little bit further because they are just determined to prove something that they think might exist somewhere."

Democratic members asserted there was plenty of Republican scrutiny of President Obama during his term. Secretary Mnuchin said he is sure there are many prominent Democrats who are glad that former Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) didn't request specific returns.

RETTIG

Full Committee Chairman Nita Lowey (D-NY) expressed concern about proposed budget cuts for IRS taxpayer services but praised an increased funding request for cybersecurity protection. Rettig said the IRS is finalizing a modernization plan and that modernized systems are key for delivering quality service and protecting taxpayer data.

"One of my highest priorities as Commissioner is putting the agency's information technology (IT) infrastructure on a path toward modernization," the Commissioner said in his testimony. "Modernization is vital to all of our core functions: successfully delivering the annual tax filing season, ensuring the health of the nation's tax system and supporting the federal government's financial strength."

Rettig, a Californian, was asked repeatedly about the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. He declined a suggestion from Chairman Lowey to soften the impact of the $10,000 limitation, emphasizing that he is an administrator of the law, which cannot be changed without congressional action.

Asked about Chairman Neal's request for the President's tax returns, Rettig said, "We're working on it." He said the decision is his with the supervision of Treasury. Rettig said counsel for the IRS has been interactive and there was a discussion between himself and Secretary Mnuchin over who will handle the response to the request.

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