Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future I will introduce legislation that will require U.S. presidential candidates to make their tax returns public in order to be eligible to appear on the Pennsylvania ballot.

The 2016 presidential election was the first in decades in which a major party candidate refused to release his tax returns to the public. This violated a tradition that dates back to 1968, when Governor George Romney released twelve years of tax records during his presidential campaign.

The need for this tradition is clear. Many Americans, not to mention the national security community, want to know whether presidential candidates may have personal or business interests that could undermine their commitment to acting in the best interests of the United States should they become President. More importantly, all Americans, whether they supported their President's election or not, must know whether their President has any financial interests that may affect their decision making while serving as President.

If you have questions about this legislation, please contact my Legislative Director, Jon Tew at jtew@pasenate.com or 610-768-4200.