At a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) questioned Sec. Scott Bessent about President Trump's tariffs and who pays for it.
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00:00Investigation subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, is recognized.
00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:04Thank the ranking member, and I thank the witness for appearing.
00:08Mr. Treasurer, when you testified before the Senate,
00:14you indicated that the CDFI fund is a very important program.
00:21It's very important to us.
00:22Is this correct?
00:23I did, sir.
00:24And is it true that you would not agree that it is a woke program,
00:32it has cultural Marxism associated with it, and that it is abused?
00:39You wouldn't agree with that, would you?
00:40Sorry?
00:41I think the CDFI fund is performing its statutory functions as required.
00:46So you would not agree, then, that it's woke?
00:49Is its statutory function to be woke?
00:52I've never seen that in the statute, sir.
00:54Okay.
00:54What about Marxism?
00:57Is that associated with it in the statute?
01:00Again, sir, I've never seen that.
01:02Okay.
01:02Now, given that the president desires to cut into this program,
01:05you're the secretary of the treasury,
01:08what are you going to do about it to protect it?
01:11Sir, the skinny budget does propose a new $100 million award program
01:16that will provide access to affordable financing.
01:20Does that take care of the many billions that we put in,
01:24$12 billion to support the CDFIs?
01:26That's a lot.
01:27It's quite a distance from the $12 billion, sir.
01:30What are you going to do about it?
01:31Look, I understand.
01:32Do you advise the president?
01:34Sorry?
01:35Do you advise the president?
01:37I advise the president on a wide range of matters.
01:39Is this considered a part of a wide range of matters?
01:43Would you advise the president that he shouldn't cut these funds?
01:46I look forward to working with you and the committee
01:48to ensure these programs operate efficiently for taxpayers.
01:51What about efficiently for taxpayers
01:53and efficiently as a result of them being in place to do so?
01:58If you don't have the money, they can't be efficient.
02:02They can't serve taxpayers if you don't have the money.
02:04Sixty-one percent of these programs are in Republican districts.
02:12Is there a question?
02:14Yes, it is a question in a sense that I'm asking you
02:18to suggest to the president that this is important
02:21and that you not cut it.
02:23So the skinny, as I said...
02:26A hundred million is quite a distance from 12 billion.
02:29Well, that's not the annual appropriate...
02:3212 billion is not the annual appropriation.
02:34No, but 12 billion is what we, a bipartisan group of folk,
02:38put into the CDFIs as well as into the minority depository institutions.
02:46We don't want to see that cut.
02:49Let's go to another area.
02:51Do you agree that when a tariff is imposed upon a product
02:56that's coming into this country, that the tariff is collected at the border?
03:02Yes, sir.
03:03And do you agree that money that's collected goes into the treasury's coffer?
03:08Yes, sir.
03:09And do you agree also that if the person that is importing this product
03:15is of the opinion that it is something that his clientele,
03:19his customers desire, that he will pay that tariff?
03:23Yes, sir.
03:24And do you agree that when he pays that tariff,
03:26he's likely to pass it on to his customers, his consumers?
03:31Through the laws of economics, we'd say that they're very elast...
03:34I understand, but do you agree that he is likely to do that?
03:38Do you agree that he does it sometime?
03:40Do you agree that he does it sometime?
03:41Again, it...
03:42Do you agree that he ever do it?
03:43Does he ever do it?
03:45Sure.
03:45So your position is, as the great treasurer you are,
03:49that this is not passed on to the taxpayers?
03:52It could be.
03:53The consumers.
03:55It could be.
03:56Well, is it ever?
03:59It's hard to say yes, isn't it?
04:01It really is.
04:02It's not hard to say.
04:02Listen, sir, you don't have to fear.
04:04Listen, don't fear the president, sir.
04:08Is it ever passed on?
04:10Have you ever heard of this tax money being collected
04:14and passed on to the consumer to pay?
04:17Have you ever heard of that?
04:18Well, the most recent studies from...
04:20Okay, let's go on to this point.
04:22I have a better point to make.
04:23Excuse me.
04:24I'm reclaiming my time.
04:25I have a better point.
04:26Listen just a second.
04:26I only have a little bit of time.
04:28And when it goes into the coffers,
04:30that money is then going to be a part of the tax dollars
04:34that can be accorded to persons in terms of a tax cut.
04:39Is this true?
04:42It's part of the overall...
04:43Yes, it is true, which means that the consumer,
04:46the person who pays that tax, this tariff tax,
04:50when he makes that purchase,
04:51is going to put his money in your coffer, our coffer,
04:55and then the president later on can say,
04:57you got a tax cut, but it's really the money
04:59that the consumer has put into your coffer.
05:02That is true.
05:03I yield back.