Keeping it civil instead of returning to our dark ways

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
After four years of this crap, how many of the conservatives on this board will still want to identify with the Republican party? The GOP you used to know is fading. The party has been taken over by a new brand of Southern "conservative," and there are no checks and balances left.

Congress is considering an omnibus spending bill right now. At the behest of Rep. Ernest Istook (R.--Okla.), GOP leaders in the Senate slipped in a provision that would permit that some committee chairmen and their designees unlimited access to any American's tax return, without any privacy protections.

Here's the provision:

• "Hereinafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law governing the disclosure of income tax returns or return information, upon written request of the Chairman of the House or Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall allow agents designated by such Chairman access to Internal Revenue Service facilities and any tax returns or return information contained therein."

Josh is on top of it.

Unbelievable.

FYI, the link is broken, but what was the state of the law pre-bill? I thought tax returns were public records, no?