Senate Democrats plan to probe corporate abuses with new subpoena powers
A victory in Georgia gave Senate Democrats a crucial 51st seat, which will give them unilateral subpoena power next year. They plan to target corporate abuses.
WASHINGTON — Two days after Democrats clinched an outright majority in the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden sent a letter to the CEO of the biopharmaceutical company Amgen seeking answers to a host of questions involving tax avoidance.
“In advance of potential public hearings and proposing new legislative changes, it is critical to understand how Amgen, a multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in the U.S. with annual sales of $26 billion primarily made to U.S. customers, paid a lower tax rate than a postal service worker or a preschool teacher,” Wyden, D-Ore., wrote in the Thursday letter, providing a Dec. 21 deadline for answers.
The subtext of the letter was clear: For now, this is a voluntary request; in a few weeks, the committee may not ask nicely.
What impact will Raphael Warnock's win in Georgia have?Dec. 7, 202203:36A victory in Georgia this week gave Democrats a crucial 51st seat, breaking the power-sharing arrangement with Republicans they've had for two years under an evenly split Senate. Come next year, Democrats will have unilateral subpoena power in many committees to compel investigative targets to provide documents and testimony — without needing GOP support.
Wyden’s letter provides a glimpse into how Democrats intend to utilize that power. In interviews with NBC News, key Democratic senators signaled they are eying populist-themed investigations of corporate abuses, tax dodging, harmful “big tech” practices and powerful entities like drug makers and oil companies.
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