At today's House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
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00:00DeLauro, for any questions that she may have for five minutes.
00:02Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
00:04My apologies for being late, and apologies to you, Mr. Secretary,
00:08but lots of hearings happening here.
00:10So just a couple of points, and I want to ask my question.
00:14Just a follow-up on this IRS piece.
00:18I think it's very interesting that, well, first of all,
00:22I totally disagree with you, Mr. Secretary.
00:24We have a revenue problem, and that's where the IRS comes in.
00:27And we think about the debt.
00:29We think about the $2.3 trillion that was debt really built up with the tax cuts
00:37to the wealthiest and the biggest corporations in 2017.
00:42We're now looking at an additional $4.5 trillion in tax cuts,
00:48which are making their way to, again, the richest and to the biggest corporations.
00:55That is debt.
00:56And that is something that I don't know about yourself and others in the administration
01:01who refuse to see that kind of debt.
01:04And the almost unbelievable piece of this is the IRS, 2024.
01:09We invested in it, able to recover more than $1.1 billion from roughly 1,600 millionaires,
01:17projected at the time that investments in high-end enforcement data and analytics,
01:21that an additional $851 billion would result in revenue over the next 10 years.
01:27The inspector general has said IRS lost 30% of auditors under Elon Musk's illegal purge,
01:35people who are wanting to ensure that millionaires and billionaires are paying their taxes.
01:41And the issue is here is that we're going to pay for those taxes by taking it out of the height of Medicaid
01:47and of children, of low-wage workers, and of seniors.
01:51The issue that I want to try to get to, I'm going to make another point,
01:56is your comments on your recent comments that seem to call into question the vitality of the textile industry
02:03in the United States and national security.
02:06I applaud the administration for the steps they've taken on de minimis and closing down that loophole.
02:12I think it was very, very important to do this.
02:14We need to go further.
02:15It needs to be applied to all countries, not just to China.
02:19But unbelievable commentary on the U.S. textile industry provides good jobs across this country,
02:26particularly in rural areas.
02:28The supply chain directly employed 471,000 workers,
02:32produced roughly $64 billion in product in 2024.
02:36Let me get to my question with only two minutes to go here.
02:41This is the dealing with a standing up for a mechanism in the U.S. to screen our investments in China
02:49to ensure capital, technology, and know-how are not fueling the capabilities of the Chinese Communist Party.
02:55I've had a bipartisan bill to do that for years,
02:58help negotiate the bipartisan bill that nearly passed last year.
03:02And I strongly support executive action to address the issue.
03:06In fact, we got appropriated funding from Treasury to implement the executive order on outbound investment.
03:15Mr. Secretary, I understand that the administration is currently reviewing the executive order.
03:20There is a clear bipartisan consensus on the need for an outbound mechanism of that screening regime.
03:26Let me ask you, do you support the implementation of such a regime?
03:33Thank you, Congresswoman.
03:35This is a very important issue.
03:38The outbound security program is an important new tool in our effort to restrict the PRC from exploiting U.S. investment.
03:44The program just began a few months ago, and we are learning and we anticipate gaining important visibility
03:50into U.S. persons' investments involving PRC entities.
03:56We appreciate the interest from Congress, and while legislation is important and helpful,
04:00I would like some time for our process to inform any legislation.
04:05We would like any legislation to be both flexible and durable.
04:09Well, you know, in your confirmation hearing in January, you noted, and this is a quote,
04:15we should have a very rigorous screening process for U.S. investments in key sectors that could go to China.
04:23And in March, you said, we will make sure that our outbound investment doesn't get used against us.
04:30We are going to continue investigating this and where necessary to block it.
04:35I heard your answer, and quite frankly, it sounds a little bit wishy-washy.
04:39I want to be clear about this.
04:41You have expressed support for outbound investment for months now.
04:46Has that changed in any way?
04:48What's the status of the administration's review of that order?
04:52What about the timeline on this, because it's an important issue?
04:56And can you commit that your department will enforce this executive order to its fullest extent?
05:01This is, I have not changed my position.
05:05As I said, we are looking at what is working, what isn't, and how the best enforcement mechanisms.
05:15And when a bill comes forward, again, we want it to be fulsome and durable,
05:21and a 2025 bill for all the nuance that goes with this.
05:26Well, I'm out of time, but please understand, we have bipartisan support.
05:34It almost made it into the continuing resolution, but for the influence of Mr. Musk.
05:41And it is critically important for our competitive edge.
05:44And I don't believe there's any reason for the administration to roll back.
05:48My hope is that we will move forward and keep the pressure on
05:51in order to be able to preserve our competitive advantage and not cede to the Chinese economy.
05:57We're in complete agreement.
05:59Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
06:00I would not want to interfere with that bipartisan moment.
06:03Okay.
06:03And it's bipartisan legislation, as you know.
06:07I appreciate that.
06:07Great piece of legislation.