'Don't Fear The President': Al Green Grills Sec. Scott Bessent On Who Pays For Trump's Tariffs

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At a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) questioned Sec. Scott Bessent about President Trump's tariffs and who pays for it.

Transcript

00:00Investigation subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, is recognized.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:04Thank the ranking member, and I thank the witness for appearing.

00:08Mr. Treasurer, when you testified before the Senate,

00:14you indicated that the CDFI fund is a very important program.

00:21It's very important to us.

00:22Is this correct?

00:23I did, sir.

00:24And is it true that you would not agree that it is a woke program,

00:32it has cultural Marxism associated with it, and that it is abused?

00:39You wouldn't agree with that, would you?

00:40Sorry?

00:41I think the CDFI fund is performing its statutory functions as required.

00:46So you would not agree, then, that it's woke?

00:49Is its statutory function to be woke?

00:52I've never seen that in the statute, sir.

00:54Okay.

00:54What about Marxism?

00:57Is that associated with it in the statute?

01:00Again, sir, I've never seen that.

01:02Okay.

01:02Now, given that the president desires to cut into this program,

01:05you're the secretary of the treasury,

01:08what are you going to do about it to protect it?

01:11Sir, the skinny budget does propose a new $100 million award program

01:16that will provide access to affordable financing.

01:20Does that take care of the many billions that we put in,

01:24$12 billion to support the CDFIs?

01:26That's a lot.

01:27It's quite a distance from the $12 billion, sir.

01:30What are you going to do about it?

01:31Look, I understand.

01:32Do you advise the president?

01:34Sorry?

01:35Do you advise the president?

01:37I advise the president on a wide range of matters.

01:39Is this considered a part of a wide range of matters?

01:43Would you advise the president that he shouldn't cut these funds?

01:46I look forward to working with you and the committee

01:48to ensure these programs operate efficiently for taxpayers.

01:51What about efficiently for taxpayers

01:53and efficiently as a result of them being in place to do so?

01:58If you don't have the money, they can't be efficient.

02:02They can't serve taxpayers if you don't have the money.

02:04Sixty-one percent of these programs are in Republican districts.

02:12Is there a question?

02:14Yes, it is a question in a sense that I'm asking you

02:18to suggest to the president that this is important

02:21and that you not cut it.

02:23So the skinny, as I said...

02:26A hundred million is quite a distance from 12 billion.

02:29Well, that's not the annual appropriate...

02:3212 billion is not the annual appropriation.

02:34No, but 12 billion is what we, a bipartisan group of folk,

02:38put into the CDFIs as well as into the minority depository institutions.

02:46We don't want to see that cut.

02:49Let's go to another area.

02:51Do you agree that when a tariff is imposed upon a product

02:56that's coming into this country, that the tariff is collected at the border?

03:02Yes, sir.

03:03And do you agree that money that's collected goes into the treasury's coffer?

03:08Yes, sir.

03:09And do you agree also that if the person that is importing this product

03:15is of the opinion that it is something that his clientele,

03:19his customers desire, that he will pay that tariff?

03:23Yes, sir.

03:24And do you agree that when he pays that tariff,

03:26he's likely to pass it on to his customers, his consumers?

03:31Through the laws of economics, we'd say that they're very elast...

03:34I understand, but do you agree that he is likely to do that?

03:38Do you agree that he does it sometime?

03:40Do you agree that he does it sometime?

03:41Again, it...

03:42Do you agree that he ever do it?

03:43Does he ever do it?

03:45Sure.

03:45So your position is, as the great treasurer you are,

03:49that this is not passed on to the taxpayers?

03:52It could be.

03:53The consumers.

03:55It could be.

03:56Well, is it ever?

03:59It's hard to say yes, isn't it?

04:01It really is.

04:02It's not hard to say.

04:02Listen, sir, you don't have to fear.

04:04Listen, don't fear the president, sir.

04:08Is it ever passed on?

04:10Have you ever heard of this tax money being collected

04:14and passed on to the consumer to pay?

04:17Have you ever heard of that?

04:18Well, the most recent studies from...

04:20Okay, let's go on to this point.

04:22I have a better point to make.

04:23Excuse me.

04:24I'm reclaiming my time.

04:25I have a better point.

04:26Listen just a second.

04:26I only have a little bit of time.

04:28And when it goes into the coffers,

04:30that money is then going to be a part of the tax dollars

04:34that can be accorded to persons in terms of a tax cut.

04:39Is this true?

04:42It's part of the overall...

04:43Yes, it is true, which means that the consumer,

04:46the person who pays that tax, this tariff tax,

04:50when he makes that purchase,

04:51is going to put his money in your coffer, our coffer,

04:55and then the president later on can say,

04:57you got a tax cut, but it's really the money

04:59that the consumer has put into your coffer.

05:02That is true.

05:03I yield back.

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