During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about his comments on tariffs.
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00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:01Mr. Secretary, you come to this historic committee with both the honor and the responsibility
00:06to uphold the proud legacy of your predecessors, starting with Alexander Hamilton.
00:10As Mr. Neal earlier noted, it's a fair expectation that when you come here, you don't, quote,
00:16fudge the numbers.
00:17Mr. Secretary, I'm disappointed that so much of what you have said today has stretched
00:21the truth, ignored the facts, and avoided directly answering our questions.
00:26But that really shouldn't surprise anyone, as in your relatively short tenure, Secretary,
00:31you've established quite a record of dissembling, deflecting, and too many times just simply
00:36highlighting.
00:37I'm going to highlight just a few.
00:39On June 1st, on Face the Nation, you said, thus far, there have been no price increases
00:42because of the Trump tariffs.
00:45Simply not true.
00:46In fact, many companies have expressly stated that they've been forced to raise prices,
00:51and others expect to do so.
00:52All the companies have noticed this in their, as required by law, reports to their investors.
00:57I ask unanimous consent to submit to the record an article published by CNBC titled, Here Are
01:03the Retailers Raising Prices as Trump Tariffs Take Hold.
01:06Without a justification.
01:08Congressmen, I would point out that inflation today was 0.1 percent.
01:11This is my time.
01:12Mr. Secretary, this is my time.
01:13Costco has said it's increased prices because of tariffs for bananas, for pineapples, for flowers.
01:17Best Buy has raised prices, and those changes took effect in May.
01:21Mark Ninja has raised prices for coffee machines.
01:23Newell Brands.
01:24Graco has said it has raised prices on baby gear by 20 percent.
01:27I ask unanimous consent to submit the entire May issue of Musical Merchandise Review, the
01:33cover titled, How Tariffs Are Already Impacting and Will Continue to Threaten the Music Industry,
01:38just as an example.
01:39I also had a constituent visiting this morning who manufactures here in the United States with
01:44U.S. employees using U.S.-produced aluminum, selling to U.S. consumers.
01:49He shared with me that the price of aluminum, what's known as the Midwest Premium, rose 30
01:54cents a pound after President doubled the tariffs on aluminum.
01:58Reuters reported on June 9th that the Midwest Premium hit a record 62.5 cents per pound, and
02:04that since Mr. Trump was elected, the price has risen nearly 190 percent.
02:10Another example, on May 18th, you said gasoline prices have collapsed under President Trump.
02:14According to AAA, when President Trump took office in January, the average price per gallon
02:18was $3.23.
02:20Prices have gone up and down.
02:22The last month, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said that prices were actually higher.
02:27This week, AAA has the average current price at $3.12.
02:32None of this reflects a collapse in prices.
02:34And on March 7th, you said, there's nothing, nothing I'm going to do to hurt collections at
02:38the IRS.
02:39Yet immediately after the end of this year's tax season, an internal IRS memo indicated you
02:44intend to cut 40 percent of the IRS workforce.
02:47You stated that the systems at the IRS are grossly outdated.
02:51Your predecessor, Charles Reddick, sat in that chair.
02:55He was appointed by President Trump, and he testified that we have a potentially $1 trillion
03:00annual tax gap.
03:01He said then, and I believe now, that better systems and more people working in compliance
03:07will help close that tax gap.
03:09And yet, yet you are trying to stop the investments in new technology and cutting 40 percent of
03:14the workforce.
03:15Mr. Secretary, I frankly wonder if we and the American people should believe anything
03:19you say.
03:20But let me shift topics.
03:21Is there a question, sir?
03:22Mr. Secretary, I am sure you saw the World Bank's forecast released yesterday that economic
03:26growth in the United States this year will drop by half as a result of the President's
03:31tariff policies.
03:33It also lowered its forecast for global economic growth because of Mr. Trump's tariffs.
03:39And warned that if they increase further, the slowdown will be even more severe.
03:43I ask unanimous consent to insert into the record an article from the Wall Street Journal entitled,
03:48World Bank Sees U.S. Growth Rate Halving as Tariffs Slow Global Economy.
03:52Without objection, if so ordered.
03:54So, let me now turn to investment in the U.S.
03:56Mr. Secretary, the U.S. is the world's first choice for foreign direct investment, or FDI.
04:01Yes or no, is it good that foreign companies and foreign investors want to invest in the
04:05U.S.?
04:06Always.
04:07FDI has grown every year since at least 2018.
04:10Mr. Secretary, is it good or bad to see that FDI grow in the U.S. economy?
04:15Good.
04:16More than 8 million American workers work for companies with foreign ownership.
04:19Mr. Secretary, isn't part of what President Trump and you are trying to do is provide
04:23incentives for foreign companies to bring jobs back to the U.S.?
04:27We're providing all companies bring jobs back to the U.S.
04:30Great.
04:31So, now let's discuss Section 899, which my Republican colleagues passed in this House.
04:36It's a new set of taxes applying punitive taxes on investors, on individuals, and on
04:40companies that are domiciled in countries that levy unfair foreign taxes.
04:44They include many of our allies, members of the European Union, the U.K., Australia, Canada,
04:49and others.
04:50Major investors and employers agree that if this revenge tax is implemented, employers will
04:55pull back on investment in their operations of the U.S.
04:58Indeed, the Joint Committee on Taxation's revenue estimate confirms this.
05:02Later in the budget window, the provision begins to lose revenue.
05:05Mr. Secretary, this runs counter to yours and the President's stated goal of driving
05:10investment in the U.S.
05:11We should be welcoming foreign direct investment, trying to give incentives for it to come here,
05:15not creating barriers.
05:16Congressman, we should not welcome foreign countries taking U.S.
05:20companies tax revenue for their own treasuries.
05:23But you are punishing the companies and the individuals who want to invest in the United
05:27States, lowering investment in the United States, hurting American jobs, hurting American
05:31innovation, hurting the future for American workers.
05:33That is a mischaracterization.
05:35Mr. President.
05:36Mr. President.
05:37Mr. President.
05:38Mr. President.
05:39Mr. President.
05:40Mr. President.
05:41Mr. President.
05:42Mr. President.
05:43Mr. President.
05:44Mr. President.
05:45Mr. President.
05:46Mr. President.
05:47Mr. President.
05:48Mr. President.
05:49Mr. President.
05:50Mr. President.
05:51Mr. President.
05:52Mr. President.
05:53Mr. President.
05:54Mr. President.
05:55Mr. President.
05:56Mr. President.
05:58Mr. President.
05:59Mr. President.
06:00Mr. President.
06:01Mr. President.