the history of like chip technology and how it began the most critical resource globally in his book "chip war." watch every friday at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> 118 congress convenes on tuesday, january 3 at noon for the first time in two years returning to washington is a divided government. republicans will control the house of representatives. democrats retain control of the senate by a thin majority. the new members are younger, with an average age of 47, compared to the average of 58 in the previous session. the new congress be more diverse with a record number of women serving, including more women of color. follow the process as a congress gavels in the session, holds the election for new speaker of the house, and new members take the oath of office.

new congress, new leaders. watch the opening day of the 118th congress on tuesday, january 3, at noon eastern. live on c-span and c-span2. also on c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that is why charter invested billions building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> >> charter communications supports c-span as a public servi,long with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> here to tell us more about yesterday's announcement is

laura weiss from cq roll call. yesterday's announcement is laura weiss. thank you. guest: good morning. thank you for having me. host: we appreciate you getting up for us this morning. it took several hours to announce a decision and the boat was a long path -- the boat was along party lines. can you tell us some of the behind the scenes and points of tensions during the debate yesterday? guest: basically the committee voted along party lines to go into this closed session to discuss the tax returns and what they would be doing with them. we know that democrats's argument has been that this is about a presidential audit system of the irs. one of the things that democrats said yesterday is because president trump did not release his tax returns publicly, and

that was the first time since nixon that a president had not done that? , they wanted to understand the system of private scrutiny. republicans argued that this was about politics. they argued this would set a dangerous precedent in terms of disclosing presidents information. it was really divided along party lines. one of the things republicans said they did behind closed doors was tried to defer it to the tax commission. that did not happen and would take it into next year when president -- republicans would have control over the house. instead, the committee voted to release this information. host: what needs to happen in order for the tax returns to actually be released? is there any indication when

that might happen? guest: chairman neal told reporters that should happen in the coming days. from this vote, this means they will be released publicly. the delay is to redact personal information. things like social security numbers more account information that, on either side, no one wants this released publicly. they need to be sure about that and we should see them in the coming days. host: what do you expect, if anything, to be learned from the release of these documents? there have been leaks, even though not officially, and of course not voluntarily. you have reported on it and organizations like the new york times. what new can be gleaned or is this symbolic? guest: i think we will be seeing a lot more data and in part --

pertinent information. we got a hint of that. the majority was from democrats. some were focused on the presidential audit process and audits that occurred at the irs and the committee on tax evasion which did include tax information on president donald trump's and bilotti and -- melania's. they tax returns will be the fullest picture that we have had. host: we have talked about the partisan divide that was indicated in that vote. can you get a little bit more detail. let's start with the democrats, in the majority.

what is the case they made and why did they say this move was needed to happen? guest: the case they may throughout this process is this was about making sure that someone is scrutinizing and putting a check on the president's powers in terms of tax returns. if it was not going to be the public, they need to make sure they knew what the irs was doing. they concluded they felt the irs audit process was really lacking. that the irs had too small of a team to really do these kinds of reviews. something to note here is that former president trump, the way his businesses are structured, auditing his taxes are quite complex and require a good amount of specialist knowledge. it is concluded that the irs

does not have the ability to do that at this point and it was not really being done in a timely matter. that trump's tax return time not been completed under the mandatory process largely. that was the argument they produced from chairman neal that is their argument of what they think needs to change. the democratic majority leader hoyer has put the on the schedule. the house is at least making effort to put that on the schedule and make a point on that. that's also would involve legislating the audit process that happens quickly. and that both the audit process in tax returns would eventually become public. host: on the others, republicans

criticize this. none of the republicans on the committee supportively to double trumps tax returns. what is there argument? guest: there argument is this set a dangerous precedent. that now that it is done, is it safe for any person to go after political enemies. they said this kind of personal information should not be released and made public. that has been there argument. they sort of pushed back on the idea that this is about the audit process. one thing we saw last night is the republican on the committee who is running to be the next chairman put out a statement and essentially said they are scared . republicans are more likely to look into president biden and his family's plan.

we will sort of see what republicans make of this as time goes on and they release more information. but now the most detailed information we have is mainly from democrats and nonpartisan. host: i want to follow up on that because republicans said they may go after president biden for example but his tax returns are already out there it on a website right now. how do republicans response, if at all, to the assertion that trump was so outside of the norm from previous presidents and candidates? did they address that at all? guest: i think they just really emphasized that this is protected, taxpayer data. they really pointed to this as it's really something they wanted to stick to and that they did not want ways and be to be releasing this kind of information.

they said this is unprecedented and democrats pointed out that they have made taxpayer information public before in courts during investigations. republicans are arguing that this is a different case and that is what they have stuck to. some of them are calling it an attack on donald trump. host: what is the risk for democrats now that they have made this vote and we know that republicans take control of the house and control of the powerful tax-writing committee in a few weeks? what could be the impact when republicans take control? guest: it will depend on who the next chairman is for the ways and means republicans. i think they have pushed aggressive oversight and they will focus a life time on the bid i'm in -- are the biden administration and irs as well.

it is hard to tell at this point. we know they will be really focused on oversight, including the irs come january. host: i know time is running out, but is there any developments democrats are still fighting for when it comes to former president trump's transparency and financial status or anything like that? guest: one thing that had been sort of an open question is what we did not know if this information would be processed and become public before congress ended, it was whether the finance chair would take over in some way and take up this issue. he has sort of said he is watching ways and means, keeping eyes -- options open. last night, the ways and means effort is closed. they have completed their work.

the information is going to all be public. it is sort of a closed investigation into this issue. what we have seen is how much republicans focus on this in terms of legislative goals. they have basically mandated that president's tax returns become public. host: thank you again. this is laura weiss, an economic reporter. thank you for joining us. we want to hear from you. do you support the release of former president trump's taxes? call us at (202) 748-8000. if you think that was the wrong move, give us a call at (202) 748-8001. our lines are open now and let's

go to them. our first call her is a mic in north carolina -- caller is mike in north carolina. do you think this is the wrong move, tell us why? guest: it is pure fascism, that is why. host: i want to show you guys articles about it. let's go there. we have an article i want to bring up about how the taxes have been put on hold. let me also remind you of the numbers. (202) 748-8000 if you support it. (202) 748-8001 if you oppose it. the house ways and means committee to representative richard neal, a democrat from

massachusetts, said the mandatory tax audits of former president trump's tax returns were almost nonexistent as he and fellow democrats hold a press conference after the debate on the release of president trump's tax returns. here is a portion of his comment. [video clip] >> for all practical purposes, the tax forms were nonexistent. they were never audited. only my sending a letter at one point prompted a rearview mirror response. i emphasize again that the mandatory program as highlighted in what you will likely get in the next few minutes or so was almost nonexistent. my point is that was the legislative purpose with which we won four federal court

decisions in three courts. we argue for an examination of how the audit process played out. once staff went to visit the irs , and once staff had a chance to go to smooth the other locations within the jurisdiction of the irs, they quickly concluded that , in fact, the audit did not occur. there were no audits in a timely manner and that goes for 2017, 2018, and 2019. i am restraining the speech and debate class for talking about the other issue that we had in our agenda. the mandatory initiative highlights the idea that it is a two-tier system. if you are at the top, you have no chance of getting audited. as steve morstan pointed out today, in our get together, the chances of being audited -- if

you claim income tax credit, the chances are far better than people at the top of the economic system. as i noted, we made it through substantial court decisions. it required patients. let me say something because i think it bears a personal note. it was never about being punitive or malicious. i never overpromise or built an unreasonable level of expectation. time and again, i refrained from questions in the hallway that you post to be because i was not about to upset the very sensitive court case. the other thing that happened to your dislike was there were no leaks that occurred from the committee. we kept this very much aboveboard. he went back and forth with the attorneys at the committee and who were determined to put forward a case that would, as i noted early on when i was asked

in the hallway right after my letter was originally sent. i was asked what do you expect and i said "a long and grueling court case". host: you want to know if you support or oppose the release of former president donald trump's tax return. our next caller is in support of that move. joseph. caller: the morning. i feel like every american who files a tax return is responsible for the content. i do not care who prepared it. the taxpayer or tax filer is

responsible. i do not feel like they are handling the audit responsibly. i feel like this individual, donald j. trump, is in fact a liar, a cheat and much worse. he should be subject to everything in power by the laws currently on the books. his tax fraud is the most despicable crime, thank you. host: let's hear from brady in ohio. you do not think trump's tax return should be released. tell us why? caller: i do not feel like his tax returns should be released because every civilian in the u.s. does not have to present their tax return. one thing that they need to do is audit the democratic party on

how much money they spent and how much time they spent with taxpayers money on going after donald trump. host: how do you respond to the precedent that every other president and most candidates have released their truck -- their taxes but trump did not? caller: donald trump, they have been after him before he even ran for president. as soon as they heard he was running, they went after him. ever since he said he was going to run for president. they need to stop. host: let's go now to judy in decatur, illinois. you are supporting releasing trump's taxes. caller: yes. i would like to make one point. did donald trump say that he could not release his taxes because he was being audited?

there is a life he tells. he was never audited and he lives, and allies, and lies. host: host: our next call her -- caller opposing the release. caller: the morning. thank you for taking my call. host: yes, go ahead. caller: it is a checks and balances. a ways and means committee. although i generally vote republican, and i support the president's seat, no matter what they are doing, the office should always be respected. i do not like to hear our current president, president biden.

i do not like former president trump to just be called trump or pence. it is a form of disrespect. i also agree that if we are going to publicly publish everybody's taxes, let's do everybody's, not just the presidents. i really like hearing from the ways and means committee that they were not "doing a witchhunt ". i like the accountability going on. i oppose that it has to be published. but the gentleman from massachusetts, they are not malicious. they are not maligning. i voted for president trump. they are not doing that. it is just proving that our system is not up to par and if the republicans can get on board, they are not doing this across the aisle. they are sitting side-by-side i have seen on pbs and other

things. yes, the lower class of income people, such as i, because of being a disabled nurse, we care that the other side wants to say that. no, it is bringing the u.s. together. i will say there is an exception to the role because there are certain cases and certain names on that committee that look like they are going after somebody. that is not what i see today on c-span and i really, really truly appreciate it as being a person of accountability. a representative at one time at 17 is an ambassador to another country. host: alright, we appreciate your call this morning. we are going to have to go to the next caller. this is robert in fairfield,

california. tell us why you are in favor of releasing trump's taxes? caller: i pay my taxes every year. wise and he not pay his for the last six years -- why did he not pay his for the last six years? he says he has been audited. he is a billionaire and he could not pay his own taxes? the committee is doing their job. he thinks he is above the law of everybody else. they should release them, you know? host: all right. i appreciate your call this morning. let's now go to tulsa, oklahoma with kane to tell us what are your thoughts? caller: i obviously oppose the

kangaroo court that we have. and all of the publicity to keep people talking about something to divert attention from the criminality that is going on in our government. the irs is essentially -- went after conservatives. the fbi goes after conservatives and sway the election from the standpoint of censoring the hunter biden crime family story. c-span's is continuing the propaganda today by attacking donald trump with all made up, one-sided, democrat arguments. we are all in a deep-freeze right now in the u.s., yet the democrats are promoting the

global warming falsehood. we are talking about kangaroo court results as though it israel. -- is real. saying that donald trump did something wrong by not releasing his tax returns. host: marian in georgia. telus what your thoughts are this morning. caller: let me respond to the last caller. global warming means the weather becomes extreme. this cold weather we are having is extreme so that is what level warming is about. but going on to the other. to me, republicans say they like transparency. when we have somebody who goes into a public office, we need to know the reasons that every year the irs makes it mandatory to

look at presidents taxes, so that we have transparency and all know what is going on. that makes sense and is the way a good democracy should run. anybody who says we should not be looking at donald trump's taxes is more fascism, referring to what that other caller called it. that would be more fascism. please always -- i am all for transparency, especially from these politicians who reach out to other countries and do business dealings. definitely need to see their taxes. thank you very much. host: again, we are talking about the release of donald trump's taxes which the house ways and means committee voted along party lines on last night.

i want to bring up that on the ipod, on usa today.com, there is an overview of the action tak en by the ways and means committee. the request put out a couple reports last night but the full report has not yet been released. it says that democrats did not disclose a lot of details about what is exactly within trump's tax returns that they are releasing. there is overarching take away. trump did not pay so much in taxes. he had big deductions, big credits, and big losses. but seldom a big tax bill. support over the years has enclosed -- has disclosed that donald trump has not had to pay taxes at all in some years

because of reports from previous years. the success of our inquiry underscores the failure of trump and the irs to to hold him accountable by failing to initiate timely, thorough presidential audits, none of which have yet been completed. some claim tens of millions of dollars in losses of credit without the types of substantiation an ordinary taxpayer would likely provide. we want to hear from you about the release of trump's tax returns. our next caller is far east -- maurice from michigan. caller: good morning. i am having a good time listening to all of the excuses by both sides for the misrepresentation that they all offer. host: what is your opinion on it? caller: i do not believe that

anybody's taxes should be public knowledge. that is just another way for people to blackmail somebody. you can always make up a story and that is what you people allow. to hurt the reputation of anybody that does not lead to democrats toyed. host: and for an opposing viewpoint in support of releasing the tax returns, let's bring up richard in new york city. hello. caller: hello. i am really glad they are releasing donald trump's tax returns as presidents going back 50 years have done. i think we should go much further because the people that

we elect and to give power to run our country need to be held to a higher standard. their finances should be public. they also know exactly what is going on. if there is something bad going on, throw them in jail. that is pretty much it. host: back to someone who opposes releasing trump's tax returns. lyle in morgan hill, california. hello. caller: hello. host: what are your thoughts? caller: my thoughts are that people need to get off of trump's back. the democrats need to get off of his back and his family. the democrats are righteous people that are out to neil trump. host: ok. we are bouncing back and forth this morning. evelyn in florida. givers were thoughts. caller: good morning.

thank you for taking my call. i would like to make it very simple. every president has released their taxes for however long. i do not understand why this is an issue. because it is something that has been done over and over again. i understand that people think that trump is being persecuted but the reality is when we have had a president over and over and over releases taxes, and then we have someone that does not want to do that, i am concerned about that. i am very much in favor of this. i think it is becoming such a public issue mainly because he refused to produce his taxes like every other president. that is really all i have to say. thank you. host: molly in texas.

oppose releasing trump taxes, why? caller: i do oppose because when president trump was running, and was not even elected yet, he told us that he took every deduction he could possibly take . he did not pull any punches there, he lets us know what he was all about. if the voters are going to elect donald trump, and they do it without him releasing his taxes, then we have no right now to

come back and say, ok, now you need to show us where taxes -- your taxes. we do not have a right to do that. host: you are watching washington journal. it has been a very busy news week. on monday, the january 6 committee approved the release of its final report which could be published today at any moment. we also had the immigration, title 42, which will be talking about later on today. we also had the world cup and lots of news today. but the biggest news is that ukrainian president zelenskyy is scheduled to arrive in washington later this morning. he will meet at the white house with president biden and then he

will go to the capital to address a joint meeting of congress. with president biden, president zelenskyy will also hold a joint press conference. you can watch the coverage on c-span. you can also monitor the joint meeting of congress on c-span again, with ukrainian president zelenskyy who is making his first trip -- his first foreign trip is here to washington. the are talking to you this morning about the release of donald trump's tax returns. former president donald trump's tax returns. the house ways and means committee voted on party lines last night to release his tax returns. all democrats are in favor, all republicans opposed. our questions to you this morning are what do you think? if you support releasing donald trump's tax returns, we want you to call us at (202) 748-8000.

if you oppose, call us at (202) 748-8001. i want to bring up the usa today article one more time. this is a different section. under the heading, "trump aids blast vote to release his taxes, linked by lame-duck democrats". it says donald trump has not calmed -- has not commented yet but his campaign member denounce this is purely political. stephen chang accused democrats of green lighting an unprecedented leak, a move that is proof they are playing a political game and they are losing. "if they are so hell-bent on releasing donald trump's tax returns, which show he builds a very successful business and

created numerous lucrative assets throughout his career, they should release the tax returns of nancy pelosi. saying he lobbied allegations that pelosi benefited from her --". saying, "if this can happen to donald trump, it can happen to all americans without cause". jane in plano, illinois. you support releasing the tax returns. why? caller: i very much support it. host: can you turn your tv down just a little bit. caller: i definitely support it. i paid my taxes. i am 81 years old. i pay my taxes every year.

as long as i get a w-2 form every year. you just fill out your tax return and pay it. what really gets to me is not only donald trump's but all of the billionaires and millionaires do not pay their fair share of taxes. the democrats did a good thing this year by increasing the irs man so they can get to more audits. i wish republicans would get on board with that too. it seems like they do not want theirs looked at and that is why they do not want to vote for it. that is my only concern. thank you.

host: thus go to gina in mississippi. you oppose it. tell us why? caller: yes, i oppose it. i oppose everything the democratic party and liberal media has done to this man since he walked into the elevator. it is an obvious lynching of the presidents of the u.s. everyday i watch this. i have been watching this tv show for years. ever since trump came down the escalator, the democrats, along with the liberal media -- 95% of the liberal media, if you could wake up and use your tiny brains to see how they are doing this to this man, including c-span. it is a shame that c-span has

allowed lies to come over the air about this man and you sit there and do nothing. i'm not talking about you because you are a very nice lady. but i have listened for eight years and it has become some kind of sick of session with the democratic party -- of session -- obsession with the democratic party that you are ignoring what they are doing to that man. you are still talking about donald trump. you believe that the democratic people will not be satisfied until that man is hanging on the news in front of the white house. host: we are going to have to move on. i do want to note that c-span provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of congress and the white house. if it is being said at capitol

hill, you will see it on c-span, including our website c-span.org . our next caller is david in west virginia. what are your comments this morning? caller: i support it. host: tell us why? caller: everybody else pays their taxes. host: ok, thank you very much. let us go to tom in orwell, ohio. what are your thoughts this morning? caller: i would like to know how much of president trump's corporations pays his employees in taxes that he has to provide in his income to make these people all be able to pay their taxes. this man has been persecuted

since he has been elected. they did not think he had a chance to win anti-fuld everybody. -- and he fooled everybody. i think they ought to pull down the wall from texas to arizona and have a controlled alien invasion. with the invasion we have now, reminds me of how we came over here and took the land from the indians because it is getting to be ridiculous in this country. host: debbie in florida. good morning. caller: hello, good morning. i definitely support it. it is astounding to me how people have been deemed by this conman to have to believe he is being persecuted when all he has been asked to do is what every

other president has done. after they are elected, there is a regulation that there taxes be audited. he avoided that by appointing his yes-man into the irs. this is not persecution. this is him avoiding responsibility that every other president has undergone. on may 16 -- on may 11 of 2016, he tweeted that he would provide his taxes once his "audit" was finished. there was still audit so that was a lie. to all the callers who are claiming that he is being persecuted, what does he have to hide because every other president has undergone this audit? since he did not undergo the audit, releasing his taxes is the right thing to do.

host: our next caller opposes the release of trump's taxes. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you today? i am not opposing. i do not really care about trump's taxes. the thing about it is his followers are so delusional that i personally believe they would make an excuse for him if he rolled in here with vladimir putin's army. they would say our american army is doing something wrong. i do not understand how people can be so delusional about one individual who has ran this particular program that he has run against the american people and the government. has a fascist takeover of our

government. i think she cut me off? host: candy in tampa, florida. tell sure thoughts. caller: i think donald trump is not above the law. he is not the type of guy i would support. i think republicans are hiding things they do not want to be shown. that is why they are more or less trying to support him not showing his taxes. there is a lot of cricket stuff going on that they do not want to be shown so that is why they are voting to not show his thing because they are afraid they might be investigated too. host: joe in signal mountain, tennessee. tell us why you oppose releasing donald trump's tax returns. caller: good morning and merry christmas.

candidates and presidents are not legally required to release their tax reforms. they do it as a courtesy because the last 34 presidents have done it. was i am more concerned about is the 150 red flags of things president biden has done. what about mr. biden's son? he is under tax scrutiny but they are not doing this. just saying, let's be fair. have a great day. host: our next caller is james in missouri. you support releasing trump tax returns. caller: undoubtedly. good morning. i look at like this. if he is going to cheat on his own taxes and try to scheme and do things for himself, if he had

the power of the u.s., he would do the same thing and be in cahoots with different people like vladimir putin or kim jong-un or whoever. birds of a feather flock together. all of the corrupt people from different nations or what have not, he will be right in the mix. he would fail the country down the drain and keep right on moving. anybody who believes in donald trump's to get behind him and follow him to an island or something and stay there. host: here is a little bit more from the new york times about the reports that the house ways and means last night. the full trust tax returns, six years worth, should be released in the coming days. the new york times wrote an article based on the report the committee put out last night. it says that in the first three years of president donald trump,

he paid $1.1 million in federal income taxes before paying then as is income dwindle and losses once again. according to tax statements, the data, which includes details of his tax returns from 2015 through his full term in the white house, shows he began suffering with large business losses that had to find much of his business career and paid almost nothing in income tax. but his fortune changed in 2018 as he reported $24.3 million in adjusted gross income and paid nearly $1 million in federal tax. mr. trump's tax returns show he was in the black the following year as well, reporting $4.4 million in income and paying $133,000 in tax.

in 2020, as the country staggered under the coronavirus pandemic, his finances reverted course. mr. trump reported a loss of $4.8 million and zero income tax. the fresh details of his taxes emerged from two reports released late tuesday by the house ways and means committee which had raised a legal battle to obtain revenue from an of -- internal revenue court. do you support the release of donald trump's tax returns? (202) 748-8000. if you oppose, your number is (202) 748-8001. our next caller opposes the release of the former taxes. roger in southbury, connecticut. caller: good morning. i find it interesting. number one, demand that called

in and said there is no legal requirement for a president or candidate to produce tax records which is true. but i do not hear any mention about the fact that donald trump did not take a dive of salary as president. neither did any of his children. i think that the callers that call in, if there is a failure in this country, it is a failure to read. there is a book that talks about the money that joe biden took from china, iran, the ukraine and russia. i think that the democrats are afraid to death that people are going to start reading and

understand what is actually happening to this country. host: let's bring of smoothie text messages b -- bring up some of the text messages b have received. "by definition, all politicians call themselves public servants and receive privileges nonpublic servants do not receive. all public service -- servants should have to release tax receipts. everybody every year. if you want the privilege of the extra benefits, your life also becomes public". william in connecticut writes, "i support the release of all politicians tax returns, equal under the law. look for insider trading and payment of 100% which of the

fair to all americans". it is about time trump is made to do what past presidents have done voluntarily. >> we will leave this program to keep our 40 are committed to coverage of congress. now live to the floor of the house here on c-span. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker.

the clerk:he