On Tuesday, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) chaired a Senate Finance Committee hearing to discuss pending nomination reports.
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00:00Come to order.
00:01We meet today to consider favorably reporting the nominations of William Kimmett, who is
00:05nominated to serve as Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade, and Mr. Kenneth Keyes,
00:14who is nominated to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the Treasury Department.
00:20The meeting this morning will provide members with the opportunity to make remarks on the
00:23nominees.
00:24We will notify members of a time and location later today to conduct the vote as we've
00:29agreed between each other.
00:32During the hearing, Mr. Kenneth spoke about his mission to ensure the International Trade
00:36Administration is a champion for American workers and industries and to promote a trade policy
00:41that is guided by a strategic understanding of our national interest.
00:46I look forward to working with him, if confirmed, to accomplish these goals.
00:51Turning now to Mr. Keyes, who has decades of experience in the tax policy world, Mr. Keyes
00:57spoke about the importance of permanently extending and building on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to
01:02prevent a more than $4 trillion tax hike and deliver certainty and stability to American
01:08families and businesses, as well as provide additional middle-class tax relief.
01:14Mr. Keyes, if confirmed, will be a valuable partner in our efforts to deliver on President
01:19Trump's economic agenda.
01:20I will be voting in favour of both nominees and I encourage all of my colleagues on the
01:25committee to do the same.
01:26I now recognize our ranking member, Senator Wyden, for his remarks.
01:30Senator Wyden Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
01:32This morning, as you noted, we are going to vote on the nominations of William Kimmett to
01:36serve as the Commerce Undersecretary for International Trade and Ken Keyes to serve as Assistant Treasury
01:43Secretary for Tax Policy.
01:45Should they be confirmed, they would play key roles in Donald Trump's plan to implement
01:51a destructive and damaging economic agenda.
01:55This past week, I was home holding town hall meetings in counties won overwhelmingly by Donald
02:01Trump.
02:02And as I met with Oregon's world-renowned farmers, ranchers, and producers, the message
02:07from Oregonians is clear.
02:10Donald Trump has left our workers and businesses in limbo.
02:13They're on a roller coaster of economic uncertainty, questioning if they'll still have a job by
02:20the end of the year or be able to keep their business or farm afloat.
02:25Donald Trump's trade chaos is, in fact, a wrecking ball for America's economy and businesses.
02:32No temporary pause on tariff changes will change the reality that Donald Trump has started a trade
02:39war on a scale that America has not seen in a century.
02:44The fact is, major damage has already been done.
02:49Businesses are left with an uncertain economic future.
02:52Our foreign trading partners are starting to discuss trade agreements that would actually
02:57exclude the United States and lock out American producers from foreign markets.
03:03The stock market is still reeling from a devastating collapse.
03:07Donald Trump has done irreparable damage to the American economy and our status as a trusted
03:12global trading partner.
03:14Meanwhile, Donald Trump and the Republicans charge ahead with a plan that looks certain
03:20to include a massive bailout for billionaires.
03:23It would be paid for by kicking millions of people off their health insurance and gutting
03:27programs that kids and families rely on to stay safe and healthy.
03:33So that brings us to today's nominees.
03:37Donald Trump has pushed the Commerce Department front and center to the trade and tariff debate.
03:43Mr. Kimmett has been at the Commerce Department for a while.
03:46If confirmed, he would be a key player in implementing a disastrous trade agenda from Donald Trump.
03:54Mr. Keyes, meanwhile, is fully committed to extending the Republicans' 2017 tax cut for billionaires
04:00and big multinational companies.
04:02He'll be key in orchestrating Donald Trump's economic and trade agenda, which accounts to
04:09nothing more than a boondoggle for billionaires.
04:12He'll be influential on taxes, trade, and so many important areas, but the reality is he's
04:19going to be a key figure in orchestrating more breaks for billionaires.
04:23In short, Donald Trump has nominated Mr. Kimmett to serve as a grim reaper for the middle
04:28class and Mr. Keyes to make the treasury into an ATM for the ultra-wealthy.
04:35Like the rest of the Trump inner circle, these nominees are handpicked to carry out a dangerous
04:41agenda and families and businesses be damned.
04:44So that's where things stand as the Finance Committee meets this morning.
04:50Americans face economic chaos caused by a trade war nobody can win, and Republicans
04:56look poised to jam through another bailout to the ultra-wealthy paid for by ripping away
05:02the lifelines that millions of Americans from all across our country count on.
05:08There's been no discussion among Republicans of tackling a number of big economic challenges
05:13the country faces today.
05:16Democrats and Americans want to make healthcare more affordable.
05:19We want to create more good jobs.
05:21We want to make sure that there's a tax code that gives everybody in America the chance
05:26to get ahead and everybody pays their fair share.
05:30You don't have to look any further than Republicans plan bailout for billionaires and corporations
05:35to know that Republican priorities begin and end with help for friends and influential donors
05:41who consistently do better, get richer, while everybody else gets left behind.
05:46If confirmed, Mr. Keyes and Mr. Kimmett would immediately get to work to help Donald Trump implement
05:52what I consider to be a very dangerous agenda for America.
05:56I will be voting no and urging my colleagues to do so as well.
06:01Thank you, Senator Wyden, and now we would turn to other senators for comments if there
06:05were some here.
06:06We don't, I don't see any here present, so unless you have any other business, then we
06:11will now proceed without objection to recess the committee and reconvene off the floor to
06:20vote on the nominations of these two nominees at a time when we will give notification to the
06:26members of the committee.
06:27I'll be fine.
06:28Without objection, so ordered, and the committee stands in recess.