'Excuse Me?': Gwen Moore Stunned By Scott Bessent's Answer During Tense Line Of Questioning

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At today's House Ways and Means Committee hearing, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) questioned Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Morey, recognized.

00:02Thank you, Chairman. Secretary Vestin, thank you for being here.

00:05Thank you for also clarifying some of the perils of Pillar 2.

00:09This is a tough discussion.

00:11To be able to push back on what Pillar 2 could ultimately do,

00:15where we are losing so much revenue to foreign countries,

00:18that's the exact opposite of what took place in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,

00:21where companies, through foreign-derived intangible income,

00:26was actually encouraged to invest back in the U.S.

00:28and we haven't seen the type of inversions

00:33that took place during many of the Obama years prior to 2017.

00:36Companies are repatriating their revenue

00:38and they're repatriating their support back into the U.S.

00:40and we're going to continue to do that.

00:42Sir, again, thank you for being here.

00:44There's no question that there are billions of dollars worth of waste

00:46within the federal government,

00:48and I applaud the work that the department is doing to address,

00:50in particular, improper payments and improve verification

00:53before payments go out.

00:55Those are sensible, very bipartisan opportunities that we can address here,

01:00and thank you for putting a lot of focus on that.

01:02I represent Ogden, Utah, and the 7,000 IRS employees that work in and call Utah home.

01:08In talking to my constituents, many of whom are federal employees with decades of experience,

01:12I've found that they want to be part of improving efficiency at the IRS.

01:15They know their jobs better than any of us,

01:17and I'm concerned that the on-the-job experience is not being utilized to its potential.

01:22Very simple.

01:23Sir, we've had some amazing opportunities to interact,

01:26and I've appreciated all of that with you and your team.

01:28Can we continue?

01:29Can we sit down with you and your team and discuss the specifics of the Ogden facility

01:33and how I and the Utahns I represent can participate in increasing efficiency at the IRS?

01:38Congressman Moore, I appreciate our past interactions,

01:41and my staff and I would be happy to do that.

01:45And what I will tell you is that we are aiming for a culture change at the IRS.

01:51We have empowered—we are cutting waste.

01:58There is a 35—35-year-old, maybe close to your age—

02:04I wish.

02:06The tech update where we are spending $3.5 billion per year,

02:14which is 10 times more—10 times more than a private sector bank would spend for the equivalent payments.

02:22And what we are finding is that the hardworking people, as you described in Ogden,

02:27are feeling empowered, and that's what we want them to do.

02:31We want them to provide the solutions, not for the solutions to be provided from up high.

02:36I've walked through the systems with them, taking tours and stuff.

02:39They are excited about the particular technological improvements that we can make,

02:43and your investment and your focus on that is much appreciated.

02:46Okay, with my remaining few minutes, let's try to correct some of the fallacies

02:51we've been hearing about the One Big Beautiful Bill and its effect,

02:54in particular, on national debt, something that I'm very passionate about.

02:57Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these statistics.

02:59Since World War II, the average annual real GDP growth rate sits at approximately 3.15%.

03:05In the last 10 years, even with COVID, the average is still at approximately 2.5%.

03:10Yes, sir.

03:11Those are the facts that I have here.

03:13The bill that the House Republicans passed assumes a 2.6% growth rate,

03:18and that would generate $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years.

03:24With the historic spending cuts that we've done, ranging in about 1.6% cuts and otherwise other offsets,

03:32that assumed growth rate is enough to offset the tax cuts provided to the middle class through this bill.

03:38In fact, it will actually reduce the deficit by an assumed $184 billion.

03:43Some quick yes or no's on those numbers.

03:46Do you think that with President Trump's deregulatory policies, coupled with the tax policies of the One Big Beautiful Bill,

03:53that this 2.6% growth rate is possible to achieve?

03:58I think it is possible, and we achieved it under President Trump's first term,

04:03and I think we could easily see it over the 10-year window at an average.

04:09And do you think it's possible that we could actually exceed a conservative 2.6% rate?

04:13Yes, sir. I believe that given this gigantic AI spend that we're seeing,

04:19that the productivity increases from that may hit the U.S. economy within the next 12 to 24 months

04:26and could accelerate our GDP growth.

04:28Accelerate GDP growth?

04:30And do you think that my colleagues from the minority party are correct

04:32when they say that the bill will add trillions of dollars to the national debt?

04:36I believe that they are mistaken.

04:41Just to close here, it is not unfair for my colleagues on the Democrat side to use CBO scoring in any type of criticism.

04:51I did it with the CBO scoring of the American Rescue Plan.

04:56I just wish we could keep the argument to where it should be.

05:00We are assuming what I believe is a reasonable 2.6% growth rate.

05:04The CBO is taking a lower percent. That's great. I think they're wrong in this case.

05:10And I think they always undervalue the potential that we have and the reality that we have from this type of economic growth policies.

05:16We have not seen revenues tank or dip since 2017 when we enacted these.

05:21We have an opportunity here to create a strong GDP and that is the most important factor to being able to go and get after our debt to GDP ratio.

05:29Sir, thank you so much for the clarifications and I yield back.

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