Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) (Getty Images)

(CNSNews.com) -- Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) should not be required to release her income tax returns, although Pelosi and House Democrats want to legally require President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to release their tax returns under H.R. 1.

On Thursday on Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com asked Chu, “Under H.R. 1, Speaker Pelosi would require the president and the vice president to release their tax returns. Do you think Speaker Pelosi should be required to release her tax return as well?”

Chu said, “No, I don’t think so, because I – unless she’s running for president.”

“See, the whole point of this is, these are the people who make the decisions at the very top,” said Congresswoman Chu. “And for 40 years the president has released the tax returns and there’s good reason for doing that, because the American people need to have faith that their president is acting on their behalf and not his own behalf.”

“So that’s why it’s particularly important for the president and the vice president and the major party nominees to submit their tax returns,” she said.

CNSNews.com followed up, “Why should the vice president be held to a different standard on releasing his tax returns than the Speaker of the House?”

“Because the vice president is second-in-command to the president,” Chu said. “They are the ones in the White House making those executive decisions – on trade, or on the tax bill, on things that affect Americans’ financial future.”

“Nancy Pelosi has to deal with the votes of 435 people,” Chu added. “She’s one in 435 votes. He can make endless executive decisions that affects the lives of Americans across this nation. That’s the difference.”

On Jan. 3, the first day of the 116th Congress, Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) introduced H.R. 1, called the “For the People Act of 2019.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) (Getty Images)

Section 10001 of the act, entitled Presidential and Vice Presidential Tax Transparency, states that the sitting president and vice president must submit copies of their income tax returns “for the taxable year and for the 9 preceding taxable years” to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and that the FEC must make the returns “publicly available.”

In addition, presidential and vice presidential candidates from a “major party” would be required to submit copies of their income tax returns for the “10 most recent taxable years,” the legislation proposes.

Under H.R. 1, members of Congress, including Pelosi, would not be required to disclose their tax returns.