Dale Strong Rapid-Fire Questions Witness Claiming Tariffs Would Reduce American Economy Efficiency

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During a House Appropriations Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL) questioned Dr. Phillip L. Swagel, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, about the effectiveness of President Trump’s tariffs.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Strong for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd first like to express my gratitude

00:04to the witnesses and their staff for their ongoing support of the invaluable resources

00:09they provide to Congress and our country. Dr. Swagel, as I mentioned to you earlier this week,

00:16I'm a data-driven individual. As Congress prepares to move forward on President Trump's agenda,

00:21is it vital that we receive accurate cost estimates for any legislation?

00:27Yes, sir, and that's my goal, to get you accurate information.

00:31In 2021, the Biden rescue plan was estimated at a $1.9 trillion million economic stimulus plan.

00:41Do you today believe that the so-called stimulus plan only cost the American taxpayers $1.9 trillion,

00:48and what percentage of that package was a total waste?

00:52Well, it's a good question. It's something that we do sometimes go back and look at legislation.

00:59We haven't had the ability to do that, and that legislation did many things. One of the things

01:06it did was contribute to the high inflation that started in 2021, which in a sense meant that the

01:12dollars that were spent were less valuable. And so I'm not saying it's a waste, because I haven't

01:17looked at that, but it made, in some sense, it hindered itself.

01:20Thank you. Given the challenges your office has faced in the past, will any of the requested funds

01:27be directed toward refining the methodology used for cost estimates, particularly when dealing with

01:33a large-scale legislation to get a true and accurate data to members of Congress?

01:41Yes, sir. The people, I would add, to work on dynamic analysis and on macro would do just

01:48that, look at the relationship between legislation and the economy in both directions.

01:54Mr. Dorough, I realize that there's a high demand for GAO services at any given time with

02:00a $26 trillion debt. How does your FY26 budget aim to improve operations and turnaround time for

02:09reports to adequately meet the demand?

02:12Yes. This would provide us with the additional people. We estimate we're going to lose about 126

02:21people as a result of the continuing resolution. So this will diminish our ability to provide

02:28timely information to the Congress. So our request will ensure that we can provide more timely

02:34information to the Congress, that we can give Congress recommendations to make the government

02:39more efficient and effective. You know, we've been engaged with some of the Department of

02:44Government efficiency efforts, and they're actually using our recommendations to help carry

02:49out their activities. So a good investment, GAO pays multiple returns to the Congress.

02:55Thank you. Pivoting over to you, Director Halpin, how's the GPO adapting its pricing model for other

03:03federal customers, such as the Department of Defense, to ensure it remains financially sustainable?

03:08Our formula is actually pretty simple. We charge our customers for the cost of the materials

03:24and labor. Most of DOD's work is actually going out to private contractors out in your district.

03:32So we're in all 50 states, most of the territories. And we charge a small fee, sometimes up to 8%,

03:41for doing that contracting work to cover our own overhead. But our pricing model has been incredibly stable

03:50and represents a strong value for the customers that choose GPO, say, choosing us instead of DLA.

04:00Thank you. Mr. Swagel, you just mentioned tariffs would reduce the efficiency of the U.S. economy.

04:08Is a $26 trillion debt an efficient economy?

04:12No, the large debt undermines the economy.

04:16Is it efficient to pay another country $20 million to produce Sesame Street to be broadcast?

04:23Is it efficient for us to buy oil from other countries when we can produce it in America?

04:32I mean, you know, it will depend on the particulars, but the trade deficit...

04:41Is it efficient for 15 million illegal aliens to come into this country?

04:47I mean, that has had a wide impact for state and local governments that have borne the biggest burden on the fiscal side.

04:53Is it efficient to fund illegal aliens when we have U.S. veterans that are sleeping in the streets of America?

05:01Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

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