Senate Republican leaders hold their weekly press briefing.
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00:00well good afternoon everyone most of the action this week is in the House of
00:09Representatives but the Senate will be doing some important things this week we
00:14are going to vote this week to do away with the Biden California mandate which
00:21was an attempt by the Biden administration to impose a vehicle electric
00:25vehicle mandate across this country through the California Clean Air Act
00:32waiver and so we're going to be having that vote later this week the impact of
00:37that particular rule would be devastating across our economy and now
00:43California by taking that action another 17 or 18 states have been implicated
00:47essentially what you've got is an electrical vehicle mandate electric
00:51vehicle mandate that will be in place almost across the entire country and so
00:56we will take action to undo that and obviously the the Democrats can make a
01:02lot of noise about that but the truth of the matter is this has nothing to do with
01:06the legislative filibuster this is the Congress in the United States Senate
01:12submitting to the body of the question of whether or not the government the
01:15government accountability office the GAO ought to be able to determine for us what
01:20is and isn't a rule the administration says it's a rule the GAO has said it's not and the United
01:28States Senate is going to be heard from on this issue tomorrow and do
01:31something that will avoid again what I think and what a lot of people across
01:35this country think would be a catastrophic outcome and that is an EV mandate
01:40that would be imposed across the United States we have already repealed this year
01:45through the Congressional Review Act 14 burdensome Biden regulations and that is
01:51what we will do with with that issue with the Biden California mandate sometime
01:57later this week probably tomorrow but the other good news this week is the
02:02Democrats allowed us to get on and to start to debate the genius act and so
02:08we're very excited about the opportunity to actually do something that will be
02:11incredibly meaningful to people across this country to consumers issuers and to
02:17ensure that there is a general regulatory framework in place and the leaders on
02:23that have been senators Hagerty and senator Lummis and I'm going to turn to them
02:27right now and allow them to make some comments about the genius bill and then
02:30we'll go to senator Brasso senator Capito and open up your questions senator
02:34Hagerty great thank you thank you leader Thune and I would like to say to
02:38everyone I look forward to making history hopefully this week as we continue to
02:42make progress on the genius act what does it do I think it's it's very
02:47important to understand this we're modernizing the payment system here in
02:50America we're going to put America at the forefront of innovation rather than
02:54having America behind as the caboose this is a dramatic new technology
02:59innovation is happening here in America I don't want to see it pushed offshore I
03:02want to see it happening right here the implications of this are incredible in
03:06terms of protecting consumers today it's an unregulated market what we'll do is
03:11make certain that everyone knows that stable coins are backed by US dollars and
03:15that those dollars are backed up by cash and short-term US treasuries the
03:20highest quality instruments so that these instruments can be used for digital
03:23trade all over the world this will ensure US dollar dominance it will advance our
03:28position as the reserve currency in the world rather than see the retreat and
03:32decline that we might otherwise experience the other thing that it will do is it will
03:36stimulate demand for United States treasuries in fact the projections are
03:40that by the end of this decade stable coin issuers here in the United States
03:43will be the number one holders of US treasuries in the world think about that
03:48I'd far prefer a benign stable coin issuer to the CCP or other sovereign nations so I
03:55think there's a lot to like about this bill I appreciate the bipartisan support
03:59that we've received moving on to it and I look forward again to making history with my
04:03colleagues later this week thank you well this has been a long time coming and a
04:10lot of negotiations have gone on to get this bill to this point where we had a
04:15strong bipartisan vote last night we look forward to sending this bill to the
04:20house so the US can establish itself as the country that has adopted the most
04:28advanced forward-thinking digital asset policy in the world it's something
04:33President Trump supports it's something that we are dedicated to because the
04:39digital asset industry is already embedded in our country and worldwide and we
04:44need to have something that preserves a dual banking system that recognizes the US
04:49dollar through our US treasuries as the important global asset that they are and
04:56continues to be as Senator Haggerty says the impetus for our being the global
05:02world reserve currency this week coinbase a digital asset company joins the S&P 500
05:10the first digital asset company to join the S&P 500 digital assets are here to
05:16stay among the 20 largest holders in the world of US treasuries is a stablecoin
05:24these are embedded assets that we haven't regulated that we haven't welcomed into
05:29our country until the genius act I want to thank Senator Haggerty for his tireless work
05:35on this I want to thank Senator Thune for giving us another chance at getting this to
05:42cloture and it is a great advance forward not only for the US Senate in that it is the
05:49first bill that's come out of the banking committee in eight years but it is our
05:54first effort to integrate our country into what will be a faster and cheaper means by which
06:01individuals small businesses and others can engage in business all over the world thank you
06:07well thanks to Senator Haggerty and Senator Lummis for their incredible leadership on this very
06:16important issue what I want to talk about is this Democrat delusional dream of eliminating gas
06:22powered vehicles in America they want to force feed every American who drives make them drive an
06:29electric vehicle well the Senate is going to get rid of this Biden era electric vehicle California
06:37mandate it's expansive and expensive economically devastating for all the country you know right
06:45now electric vehicles are about 7% of the market in America sales are declining and yet what they
06:52put in place what they're trying to put in place is absolutely impractical they went 35% of all the
06:59vehicles sold starting next year to be electric they want a hundred percent in the year 2035 to be
07:06electric the fines are terribly high $20,000 per vehicle if you don't sell those vehicles that people that
07:13the Biden administration wants to make people buy people want to buy them too bad they still get fined
07:21so the House of Representatives all the Republicans plus 35 Democrats including Democrats from California
07:27voted to end that mandate that's what the Senate is going to do as well we have what we see the
07:32Democrats here in the Senate they're clinging to this last pillar of the Green New Deal that's a deal
07:37that lost in the elections in November and the Republicans have won the House the Senate and the White House and
07:43we're going to eliminate this California electric vehicle mandate hi everybody as chair of the
07:52Environment and Public Works committee I am the one who is leading the California waiver the
07:56Congressional Review Act I think that when you talk about lack of choice when you talk about a mandate in
08:04California that spreads to 17 other states the onerous quality of this of this rule is just beyond
08:12description not just the penalties forcing certain states and certain consumers to purchase a
08:19vehicle that they may not want or that they can't find it really eliminates what I think is our country was
08:25built on which is individual choice and making the decisions for yourselves so we are I think the
08:31one thing that's interesting about this mandate is the Biden administration the California asked for
08:37this waiver in May of 2023 it was not granted until the very end of September of 2024 do you know why
08:47because they know the American people reject this handily and it would have really cost them in states
08:54like Michigan and other places to have a EV vehicle mandate in front of the American people so they held it
09:02the Trump administration under Administrator Zeldin's leadership submitted it as a rule it is a rule
09:09submitted to this it is within the boundaries of the Congressional Review Act and we're going to deal
09:13with it tomorrow questions for genius any of the genius and questions
09:21The Justice Department charged a sitting congressman with assault over the protests at the ice facility in New Jersey how do you square that when the same administration pardoned so many who assaulted officers on January 6th?
09:30Well my nobody of course is above the law and I have full confidence that the court system the judicial system in this country will handle that issue in an appropriate way
09:42Leader Thelen as you know
09:45Leader Thelen as you know Moody has joined Fitch and S&P in downgrading U.S. credit
09:50And primarily because they don't have confidence that this Congress can rein in the national debt
09:59Is it time for a more realistic assessment and accounting the cost of reconciliation
10:05Given that it's going to increase the deficit and debt regardless of how you've scored that and it's going to add to interest costs both in the private sector and for the government?
10:19Well I think the stated goal we just heard from the speaker at lunch is to come up with a bill that doesn't add to the deficit or the debt and so hopefully we will be able to deliver on that but the one thing you have to have if you want to deal with deficits and debt is a dynamic economy you have to go
10:35Have an economy that's growing and expanding and a lot of the tax policies included in the reconciliation bill under consideration in the house that ultimately will come to the senate do just that
10:46They are pro-growth policies that create greater growth in the economy
10:50Better paying jobs and when people are making money and taking realizations they're paying taxes and tax revenues go up
10:57So you need you need the pro-growth policies many of which will be included in there
11:00And then it but it is a it is a it is a warning shot that we need to get serious about spending restraint
11:06And and that's why I think a lot of our colleagues have made it very clear that in order for a bill to get through the house and the senate on the president's desk
11:13It has to make a meaningful dent in the out-of-control spending we've seen over the past several years
11:20And you know we just come on off four years the Biden administration they did two reconciliation bills
11:25They added three trillion dollars in spending and three trillion dollars to the debt and we're now trying to undo some of that damage
11:31But we have to get this thing in a place where we're slowing the rate of growth and spending
11:35And bending that curve down getting growth in the economy and before long you can start seeing this thing start to to come back into balance
11:43But it's not going to happen overnight
11:44It's going to take courage
11:46It's going to take principled leadership and in a willingness of Republicans obviously because you're not going to get any help from Democrats to do the hard work when it comes to reducing spending
11:58Can you tell me your response to Democrats saying that this CRA vote is equivalent to going nuclear and that it's a slippery slope here with the filibuster
12:08Which you said you want to preserve
12:10And I do and I'm that hasn't changed and that will change that won't change the only people that have attempted to get rid of the legislative filibuster the Democrats
12:18Every single one of them up there that's that's popping off and spouting off has voted
12:23Voted literally to get rid of the legislative filibuster
12:26This is a novel and narrow issue that deals with the government accountability office and whether or not they ought to be able to determine what is a rule and what isn't or whether the
12:34Administration and the Congress ought to be able to make that decision
12:37This administration has said it's a rule
12:39We believe it qualifies under the CRA as Senator Capito has said and and we're going to move forward and do away with a mandate
12:47Is that essentially is an attempt by the Democrats to get rid of the internal combustion engine?
12:52It's it's that simple
12:54They want an EV mandate nationwide
12:56They're trying to do it through California and this has nothing to do with the legislative filibuster
13:01This is a this is a rule and
13:04And everything we're going to be doing tomorrow is going to be limited to that
13:07I think a lot of the the issue in the Senate will be as I mentioned earlier
13:27Does it have sufficient spending reforms to get us on a more sustainable fiscal path?
13:33I think most of our members are in favor of a lot of the tax policy and in particularly those portions of the tax policy that are
13:39Stimulative that are pro-growth that will create greater growth in the economy
13:44But when it comes to the spending side of the equation
13:46This is a unique moment in time and in history where we have the House and the Senate and the White House and an opportunity to do something meaningful
13:54About out of control government spending so I think a lot of it's around that there are there are
13:59Dials and tweaks on some of the tax issues that our members will want it will want to talk about I think one of the principal
14:05Differences at least right now and some of the house versions that I've seen and I can't speak because we haven't they haven't passed it yet
14:11Is they have cliffs and some short shorter time term I would say
14:18Time frames when it comes to some of the tax policies we believe that permanence is the way to create economic certainty and thereby
14:26Attract and incentivize capital investment in this country that creates those good-paying jobs and
14:31And gets our economy growing and expanding and generates more government revenue
14:35So there are different you know views about what the length of some of these tax policies ought to be and we'll have an opportunity
14:41To be heard on that when it comes to the Senate. Thank you all
14:43Thank you
15:11We've had an enormous amount of input on this bill it's been on the street since October I can tell you we've had
15:30Every list that you could imagine of final demands and final terms coming from the Democrats
15:35I was very pleased to see 16 of them join us last night. We were actually at one point at 18 and two of them
15:40Pulled back, but I'm very optimistic that we'll get there if there are technical tweaks that that people need
15:45I've told them I'm more than happy to work with them to to get that done
15:48And I'm going into this with an optimistic viewpoint that we ought to be able to get here
15:53To conclude this legislative activity by the end of the week. I'm hopeful
15:57You know the house has also worked on stable coins
16:17For a couple years
16:19For a couple years
16:21Senator Gillibrand and I who have a market structure bill have been working with our house counterparts on market structure
16:28It is undetermined whether they will be joined at any point so we continue to pursue strategies
16:35That would allow both market structure and the genius act or stable coin legislation to cross the finish line this calendar year
16:45Yeah, and I would say this someone made the remark yesterday
16:48That if you can't get the stable coin legislation done, you'll never get market structure accomplished
16:52And I think that's true the stable coin legislation is straightforward
16:55It's easy to explain. I think my colleagues understand this
16:59This is basically just converting the dollar to the digital currency of preference
17:02And what that has to do with it makes it secure it protects consumers
17:06But at the same time it establishes the dollar as the currency of choice for all digital payments and takes us from a system
17:12That was born in the 70s and 80s to the 21st century and as senator Lumma said earlier
17:17This puts us at the very cutting edge of innovation and technology a lot of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
17:22I think see this promise want to see us get started and this will move straight into market structure
17:27This is a great way to build that momentum
17:29How was the education process for your members? Obviously a lot of them didn't understand the difference between digital assets
17:34Can you talk about how that went?
17:36I'll tell you may have a lot more to say about this, but I'd say our members have been very open to talking
17:43But this is a number of them just haven't had the experience have not had the markets experience and I think everybody as they begin to talk about it
17:50Understand it realize that this is a chance to actually put America at the forefront of innovation and strengthen our position
17:56As the reserve currency of the world and actually stimulate demand for U.S. Treasuries at the same time. There's a lot to like about this
18:04Yeah, I think just the fact that coinbase is joining the S&P 500 this week helps us
18:11members of Congress see that this industry is maturing quickly and
18:17That they need to learn more about it
18:20It started with Senator Sinema and I
18:23We founded a caucus here in the Senate to help educate members and staffers about digital assets
18:32This stable coin bill the genius act is the first opportunity
18:36We've actually had to legislate on the floor of the Senate about it
18:41So many senators are learning about it in real time
18:45learning the
18:46Tremendous difference between a stable coin which is a hugely different asset than
18:52Bitcoin or a cryptocurrency and there are people that conflate
18:57Cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin so we're making progress. It's slow, but finally people are recognizing
19:05the
19:16So welcome everybody
19:18I might add one more point to the education piece
19:21There seems to be a lot of confusion or it had been a lot of confusion about whether this might involve meme coins or coins issued by a particular
19:29Issuer or person this legislation is agnostic as to company it's agnostic as to person
19:35This is simply about putting the United States of America on the best digital payments path
19:40That it possibly could be on this is about a payments currency, and it's about consumer protection, and it's about dollar dominance and Treasury dominance
19:47That's all it's about and there are a lot of superfluous questions going around, but I think we've done a good job of answering those
19:52Thanks. Thank you. Thank you all