It’s Time for Tax Reform Transparency

Jul 31, 2013 | 9 min read | Print Article

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Hatch (R-UT) should be commended for their ‘Blank Slate’ approach to tax reform. In that proposal they called for wiping the tax code clean of all tax breaks except for those which have been demonstrated to (1) help grow the economy, (2) make the tax code fairer, or (3) effectively promote other important policy objectives. They also requested that other Senators submit letters detailing what provisions should remain in the code and why. And to encourage the submission of these letters, they promised to keep them secret for 50 years!

TCS rallied thirty organizations across the political spectrum to decry this unprecedented (President’s generally only get 12 years before their records are opened) level of secrecy for important policy making. Taxpayers deserve to know what their elected officials are proposing and why. To that end, TCS is calling on all Senators to release their tax reform submissions. Tax reform last occurred in 1986, it’s high time to rid the code of the thicket of giveaways and special interest provisions that have grown over the last quarter century. But to maintain credibility and prevent public cynicism, it has to be done in the light of day.

TCS has pulled together a handy chart the details whether individual Senators released their letter and a link to the letter if it exists. If you find a letter from a Senator, please provide a link in the comments field. And contact your Senators today to encourage them to publish their requests or, if they have already, to thank them for not trying to keep taxpayers in the dark.

You can call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121

You can look up your Senators here and your Representative here.

Member	Letter Posted on Website?		Link to the Letter	Comments
	Yes	No
Alexander, Lamar – (R – TN)		x
Ayotte, Kelly – (R – NH)	x		Letter
Baldwin, Tammy – (D – WI)	x		Letter
Barrasso, John – (R – WY)		x
Baucus, Max – (D – MT)		x
Begich, Mark – (D – AK)	x		Letter
Bennet, Michael F. – (D – CO)		x
Blumenthal, Richard – (D – CT)	x		Letter
Blunt, Roy – (R – MO)		x
Boozman, John – (R – AR)		x
Boxer, Barbara – (D – CA)		x
Brown, Sherrod – (D – OH)		x	Press Release with Highlights	Only highlights of his letter were posted on his website.
Burr, Richard – (R – NC)		x
Cantwell, Maria – (D – WA)	x		Letter
Cardin, Benjamin L. – (D – MD)		x	Press Release with Highlights	Only highlights of his letter were posted on his website.
Carper, Thomas R. – (D – DE)		x
Casey, Robert P., Jr. – (D – PA)	x		Letter
Chambliss, Saxby – (R – GA)		x
Chiesa, Jeff – (R – NJ)		x
Coats, Daniel – (R – IN)		x
Coburn, Tom – (R – OK)	x		Letter
Cochran, Thad – (R – MS)		x
Collins, Susan M. – (R – ME)		x
Coons, Christopher A. – (D – DE)	x		Letter
Corker, Bob – (R – TN)		x
Cornyn, John – (R – TX)		x
Crapo, Mike – (R – ID)	x		Letter
Cruz, Ted – (R – TX)		x
Donnelly, Joe – (D – IN)	x		Letter
Durbin, Richard J. – (D – IL)		x
Enzi, Michael B. – (R – WY)	x		Letter, Attachment: 1, 2, 3
Feinstein, Dianne – (D – CA)		x
Fischer, Deb – (R – NE)		x
Flake, Jeff – (R – AZ)	x		Letter
Franken, Al – (D – MN)	x		Press Release with Letter	Request to repeal the Medical Device Tax was made public. Any additional letter was not.
Gillibrand, Kirsten E. – (D – NY)		x
Graham, Lindsey – (R – SC)		x
Grassley, Chuck – (R – IA)		x
Hagan, Kay R. – (D – NC)	x		Letter
Harkin, Tom – (D – IA)		x
Hatch, Orrin G. – (R – UT)		x
Heinrich, Martin – (D – NM)		x
Heitkamp, Heidi – (D – ND)		x
Heller, Dean – (R – NV)		x
Hirono, Mazie K. – (D – HI)		x
Hoeven, John – (R – ND)		x
Inhofe, James M. – (R – OK)		x
Isakson, Johnny – (R – GA)		x
Johanns, Mike – (R – NE)		x
Johnson, Ron – (R – WI)		x
Johnson, Tim – (D – SD)		x
Kaine, Tim – (D – VA)	x		Letter
King, Angus S., Jr. – (I – ME)		x
Kirk, Mark – (R – IL)		x
Klobuchar, Amy – (D – MN)		x	Press Release with Letter.	Request to repeal the Medical Device Tax available on Sen. Franken's website. Any additional letter was not made public.
Landrieu, Mary L. – (D – LA)		x
Leahy, Patrick J. – (D – VT)		x
Lee, Mike – (R – UT)		x
Levin, Carl – (D – MI)		x
Manchin, Joe, III – (D – WV)		x
Markey, Edward J. – (D – MA)		x
McCain, John – (R – AZ)		x
McCaskill, Claire – (D – MO)		x
McConnell, Mitch – (R – KY)		x
Menendez, Robert – (D – NJ)		x
Merkley, Jeff – (D – OR)	x		Letter
Mikulski, Barbara A. – (D – MD)		x
Moran, Jerry – (R – KS)		x
Murkowski, Lisa – (R – AK)		x
Murphy, Christopher – (D – CT)	x		Letter
Murray, Patty – (D – WA)		x	Article with Letter	The letter was made available through Roll Call.
Nelson, Bill – (D – FL)	x		Letter
Paul, Rand – (R – KY)		x
Portman, Rob – (R – OH)		x
Pryor, Mark L. – (D – AR)		x
Reed, Jack – (D – RI)		x
Reid, Harry – (D – NV)		x
Risch, James E. – (R – ID)		x
Roberts, Pat – (R – KS)		x
Rockefeller, John D., IV – (D – WV)	x		Letter
Rubio, Marco – (R – FL)	x		Letter
Sanders, Bernard – (I – VT)	x		Letters 1, 2, 3
Schatz, Brian – (D – HI)		x
Schumer, Charles E. – (D – NY)		x
Scott, Tim – (R – SC)		x
Sessions, Jeff – (R – AL)		x
Shaheen, Jeanne – (D – NH)		x
Shelby, Richard C. – (R – AL)		x
Stabenow, Debbie – (D – MI)		x
Tester, Jon – (D – MT)		x
Thune, John – (R – SD)		x
Toomey, Patrick J. – (R – PA)		x
Udall, Mark – (D – CO)		x
Udall, Tom – (D – NM)		x
Vitter, David – (R – LA)		x
Warner, Mark R. – (D – VA)		x
Warren, Elizabeth – (D – MA)		x
Whitehouse, Sheldon – (D – RI)		x
Wicker, Roger F. – (R – MS)		x
Wyden, Ron – (D – OR)		x