Janet Yellen Touts Biden Admin For ‘Creating Economic Opportunity’ For Americans Across The Country

4 months ago

During a House Ways & Means Committee hearing on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gave opening remarks touting the strength of the economy.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Today's sole witness is United States Secretary of the Treasury, Ms. Janet Yellen.

00:05The committee has received your written testimony and it will be made part of the

00:08formal hearing record. Secretary Yellen, you may begin when you are ready.

00:14Thank you, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Neal, and members of the committee. Thank you for the

00:20invitation to testify. The Biden administration has driven an historic economic recovery over

00:28the past three years. GDP growth has been strong, growing 3 percent over the past four quarters.

00:37Inflation has decreased significantly since its peak, though we have more work to do.

00:44The labor market is also remarkably healthy, with the unemployment rate below 4 percent

00:51for the longest stretch in over 50 years. Real wages and household median wealth have

00:58increased since before the pandemic, and families are putting their additional income

01:04and accumulated savings back into the economy. Consumer sentiment is up 21 percent from one year

01:13ago. President Biden and I are taking additional actions to bring down the costs of key household

01:22expenses like energy, prescription drugs, and housing. We are also focused on expanding our

01:30economy's capacity to create good jobs while reducing the deficit. As we implement the

01:38bipartisan infrastructure law, the Chips and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act,

01:45we are creating economic opportunity for Americans across the country, including those without

01:52college degrees and in communities that had historically been overlooked or left behind.

02:00Companies have announced over $675 billion in clean energy and manufacturing investments

02:09since the start of this administration, some of which I've gotten the opportunity to see firsthand.

02:17The modernization of the Internal Revenue Service, made possible by the IRA and discretionary

02:25appropriations, has enabled us to combat tax evasion by the wealthiest Americans that cost

02:33our country over $150 billion a year, and it's made it easier for taxpayers to file their taxes

02:42and get the credits they're owed. We met or exceeded all the goals we set out for this filing season,

02:51including reaching an 88 percent level of service, saving taxpayers over 1.4 million hours

03:00of hold time, and providing an additional 11,000 hours of in-person assistance compared to last

03:09year. We also successfully launched the Direct File pilot program, an easy, free, and secure way

03:19to file taxes on a computer or mobile device with over 140,000 accepted returns in the first year.

03:29The President's budget proposes additional investments to lower costs for workers and

03:35families and strengthen our economy while reducing the deficit, including making permanent the

03:43expansion of tax credits for health insurance premiums enacted in the American Rescue Plan

03:51and extended in the IRA, and expanding the earned income tax credit, child tax credit,

03:58and low-income housing tax credit. These proposals would help make health care more affordable,

04:06reduce child poverty, and give working families more breathing room in their household budgets.

04:14We can make these investments while reducing the deficit by $3 trillion over a decade

04:20through a combination of smart savings and tax proposals. President Biden and I have proposed

04:28implementing a billionaire minimum tax so that the top 100th of a percent pay their fair share,

04:37raising the tax on corporate stock buybacks to encourage businesses to reinvest profits

04:44in their workers and grow their companies, and closing estate and gift tax loopholes

04:50that allow wealthy Americans to pay less than they would otherwise owe.

04:55As a whole, the President's budget will enable us to address costs that families face right now

05:04and to bolster our country's economic strength for the years ahead.

05:09I'll now be happy to take your questions.

Janet Yellen Touts Biden Admin For ‘Creating Economic Opportunity’ For Americans Across The Country

Category

Transcript

Recommended