During Wednesday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) questioned Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent about the benefits of passing the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.
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00:00Mr. Kustoff.
00:02Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here today and after your long days of travel.
00:11So thank you very much for being here.
00:13If I could ask you, Mr. Secretary, there's been a lot of attention lately
00:18and a lot of conversation around the bond markets and rising yields for U.S. Treasuries.
00:25If I could, if I could get you to address that, maybe some reassurance, maybe a couple of questions.
00:34First of all, what is your current assessment of the bond markets
00:39and your view of the upward pressure on Treasury yields recently?
00:44Congressman, if I could break that down into three pieces.
00:49One is the smooth functioning of the bond market.
00:52So even during the April high volume, high volatility period, the bond markets function very well, trades cleared.
01:04There was never a question of financial stability.
01:07Two, at Treasury, our bond issuance is going quite well.
01:13We are actually seeing an uptick in primary purchasers as opposed to, so these are the end users who would hold it as opposed to dealers or flippers.
01:25And then three, as I said earlier, the United States 10-year is the only major 10-year yield in the world that is down in the year.
01:36Down in the year.
01:37Down in the year.
01:38So for all the skies falling and cries of what's happening or that a crisis is inevitable, the U.S. continues to be the most stable bond market.
01:57You've had a lot of questions today about the One Big Beautiful Bill and a lot of questions, very detailed questions.
02:07What would happen to the economy if Congress were to fail to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill and the majority of the tax cuts from 2017 were to expire?
02:19Again, Congressman, there are two parts there.
02:23So one, the O-Triple-B, as I call it, contains the debt ceiling raise and extension.
02:31So that cannot happen.
02:34That must be raised and extended.
02:37And so we will not even talk about the ramifications of that because it will never happen.
02:42Two, as I said, it would be an economic sudden stop where we would see a cataclysmic event for working Americans, for job creation, for the financial system.
02:58So it's unthinkable that this could happen.
03:02It would be the largest tax increase in history.
03:05And again, I'm not necessarily, you know, I was criticized for my criticism of the CBO.
03:11I'm not necessarily going after the men and women who work there.
03:14I'm going after their insufficient models because their insufficient models say that if we make permanent the tax bill, that we don't get an increase in growth.
03:26But to your point, if somehow the one big beautiful bill were not passed, that growth will remain the same, which is obviously a ridiculous assumption.
03:41Wouldn't it be devastating for the economy if we failed to pass the one big beautiful bill?
03:45Sir, I think it could set off the financial crisis the likes of which we have not seen since 08, 09.
03:55Mr. Secretary, you would rather be Treasury Secretary than Chairman of the Federal Reserve, wouldn't you?
04:00Sir, I think I have, other than some congressional reporting, the best job in Washington.
04:14And I am happy to do what President Trump wants me to do.
04:21And I think that we are making great progress at Treasury.
04:25I can tell you that having been in the building now since January 28th, the professional staff is incredible, incredible.
04:36And the political staff that we brought in, everyone is working well together.
04:41We are working to enhance the economy for the American people, maintain the reserve status of the U.S. dollar.
04:50And to your first question, make sure that the U.S. Treasury market, which is the largest and soundest and bellwether for the world, maintains that status.
05:01And I would like to stay in my seat through 2029 to do that.
05:07Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
05:08Mr. Secretary, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have repeatedly said that there are no outside experts who support the One Big Beautiful Bill.
05:16And I would like to correct that for the record for a moment.
05:19So, Mr. Chairman, if I could, I'd like to submit for the record a letter that was sent to President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Leader John Thune on June 3rd, showing 300 economists support for the One Big Beautiful Bill.
05:35May urge speedy adoption of legislation to enact pro-growth tax policies.
05:40And, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to submit that for the record.
05:42Without objection.
05:43Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
05:44I yield back.
05:45Good.
05:46And, Congressman, I...