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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced today a “commitment to transparency,” as she posted her 2016 tax returns online.
New York’s junior senator has been doing so since 2012 “as an additional layer of transparency to her constituents.” And while doing so, she called on President Trump to also release his taxes to the public as other Presidents before him have.
In 2012, Sen. Gillibrand championed the STOCK Act, which increased reporting requirements on Members of Congress and the Administration in regards to their stock trades and made it a crime for federal elected officials and their family members to profit from non-public information from their government access.
“We need to keep demanding transparency and accountability from all of our elected officials. Americans need to know that their representatives in government are working for them, and not influenced by conflicts of interest,” Gillibrand said in a post on Medium, the entirety of which follows:
Transparency is the cornerstone of open and honest government, and it is one of my top priorities. I fundamentally believe that it is part of the commitment I make every year to the people of New York State.
Intending to lead by example, I became the first member of Congress to post my official daily meetings, earmark requests, and personal financial disclosures online in 2007.
Today, on Tax Day, I posted my tax returns on my official website for the 6th year in a row. I’ll do this for as long as I am in office, and I’ll never stop looking for new ways to try to increase transparency in our government.
We need to keep demanding transparency and accountability from all of our elected officials. Americans need to know that their representatives in government are working for them, and not influenced by conflicts of interest.
This past weekend, it was inspiring to see people come together for Tax Marches across the country to demand transparency from the Trump Administration, and to call for President Trump’s tax returns.
To those who have been speaking out: please keep raising your voices on this issue. It matters, and it makes a difference
