'Sounds A Little Bit Wishy Washy': Rosa DeLauro Grills Scott Bessent About Outbound Investment

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At today's House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Transcript

00:00DeLauro, for any questions that she may have for five minutes.

00:02Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

00:04My apologies for being late, and apologies to you, Mr. Secretary,

00:08but lots of hearings happening here.

00:10So just a couple of points, and I want to ask my question.

00:14Just a follow-up on this IRS piece.

00:18I think it's very interesting that, well, first of all,

00:22I totally disagree with you, Mr. Secretary.

00:24We have a revenue problem, and that's where the IRS comes in.

00:27And we think about the debt.

00:29We think about the $2.3 trillion that was debt really built up with the tax cuts

00:37to the wealthiest and the biggest corporations in 2017.

00:42We're now looking at an additional $4.5 trillion in tax cuts,

00:48which are making their way to, again, the richest and to the biggest corporations.

00:55That is debt.

00:56And that is something that I don't know about yourself and others in the administration

01:01who refuse to see that kind of debt.

01:04And the almost unbelievable piece of this is the IRS, 2024.

01:09We invested in it, able to recover more than $1.1 billion from roughly 1,600 millionaires,

01:17projected at the time that investments in high-end enforcement data and analytics,

01:21that an additional $851 billion would result in revenue over the next 10 years.

01:27The inspector general has said IRS lost 30% of auditors under Elon Musk's illegal purge,

01:35people who are wanting to ensure that millionaires and billionaires are paying their taxes.

01:41And the issue is here is that we're going to pay for those taxes by taking it out of the height of Medicaid

01:47and of children, of low-wage workers, and of seniors.

01:51The issue that I want to try to get to, I'm going to make another point,

01:56is your comments on your recent comments that seem to call into question the vitality of the textile industry

02:03in the United States and national security.

02:06I applaud the administration for the steps they've taken on de minimis and closing down that loophole.

02:12I think it was very, very important to do this.

02:14We need to go further.

02:15It needs to be applied to all countries, not just to China.

02:19But unbelievable commentary on the U.S. textile industry provides good jobs across this country,

02:26particularly in rural areas.

02:28The supply chain directly employed 471,000 workers,

02:32produced roughly $64 billion in product in 2024.

02:36Let me get to my question with only two minutes to go here.

02:41This is the dealing with a standing up for a mechanism in the U.S. to screen our investments in China

02:49to ensure capital, technology, and know-how are not fueling the capabilities of the Chinese Communist Party.

02:55I've had a bipartisan bill to do that for years,

02:58help negotiate the bipartisan bill that nearly passed last year.

03:02And I strongly support executive action to address the issue.

03:06In fact, we got appropriated funding from Treasury to implement the executive order on outbound investment.

03:15Mr. Secretary, I understand that the administration is currently reviewing the executive order.

03:20There is a clear bipartisan consensus on the need for an outbound mechanism of that screening regime.

03:26Let me ask you, do you support the implementation of such a regime?

03:33Thank you, Congresswoman.

03:35This is a very important issue.

03:38The outbound security program is an important new tool in our effort to restrict the PRC from exploiting U.S. investment.

03:44The program just began a few months ago, and we are learning and we anticipate gaining important visibility

03:50into U.S. persons' investments involving PRC entities.

03:56We appreciate the interest from Congress, and while legislation is important and helpful,

04:00I would like some time for our process to inform any legislation.

04:05We would like any legislation to be both flexible and durable.

04:09Well, you know, in your confirmation hearing in January, you noted, and this is a quote,

04:15we should have a very rigorous screening process for U.S. investments in key sectors that could go to China.

04:23And in March, you said, we will make sure that our outbound investment doesn't get used against us.

04:30We are going to continue investigating this and where necessary to block it.

04:35I heard your answer, and quite frankly, it sounds a little bit wishy-washy.

04:39I want to be clear about this.

04:41You have expressed support for outbound investment for months now.

04:46Has that changed in any way?

04:48What's the status of the administration's review of that order?

04:52What about the timeline on this, because it's an important issue?

04:56And can you commit that your department will enforce this executive order to its fullest extent?

05:01This is, I have not changed my position.

05:05As I said, we are looking at what is working, what isn't, and how the best enforcement mechanisms.

05:15And when a bill comes forward, again, we want it to be fulsome and durable,

05:21and a 2025 bill for all the nuance that goes with this.

05:26Well, I'm out of time, but please understand, we have bipartisan support.

05:34It almost made it into the continuing resolution, but for the influence of Mr. Musk.

05:41And it is critically important for our competitive edge.

05:44And I don't believe there's any reason for the administration to roll back.

05:48My hope is that we will move forward and keep the pressure on

05:51in order to be able to preserve our competitive advantage and not cede to the Chinese economy.

05:57We're in complete agreement.

05:59Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

06:00I would not want to interfere with that bipartisan moment.

06:03Okay.

06:03And it's bipartisan legislation, as you know.

06:07I appreciate that.

06:07Great piece of legislation.

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