During a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) questioned Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent about President Trump’s tariff policy.
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00:00Appreciate the gentleman from New York.
00:02The gentlewoman from California, Ms. Kim, is recognized for five minutes.
00:06Thank you, Chairman Hill and Ranking Member Waters for holding this hearing.
00:09Secretary Besson, good to see you and thank you so much for coming.
00:13Southern California, where I'm from and the district that I represent, serves as the primary gateway
00:19to Pacific Rim, and Asian goods into the United States come through the ports of L.A. and Long Beach.
00:27But we are already starting to see a drop in volume as the ports of L.A. and Long Beach
00:33are expected to see 35% to 30% drop when compared to a year ago.
00:40Cargo volume is one of the largest economic drivers in the region, and long-term drop will
00:46not just impact families at the grocery stores and small businesses' bottom line, but also
00:53result in truckers and duck workers losing their jobs.
00:57So Secretary Besson, I would like to ask, how can you ensure that our tariff policy will
01:05not unintentionally harm American small businesses and workers in the long term?
01:11Well, Congresswoman, we believe, over the long term, that it will drive growth in the economy,
01:19and as I've said many times, it is a mistake to look at trade in isolation.
01:25The Trump economic policy is a three-legged stool, trade, taxes, and deregulation, and we
01:33believe that the sum of the parts, that the whole is greater than the parts, and as we complete
01:41each one of those, that the U.S. will see substantial economic growth.
01:47You know, I know that a lot of my constituents share these concerns that we raised, so I'd
01:53like to continue this discussion on this specific topic with you moving forward because I'm concerned
02:00that these long-scale tariffs, if they continue in the long term, then American working families
02:06and small businesses will suffer under price hikes and a lack of certainty.
02:12But I want to shift gears and discuss the Financial Stability Oversight Council, FSOC.
02:18Under the previous administration, Secretary Yellen rescinded the non-bank, systematically
02:26important financial institution, and replaced it with a new framework for assessing the financial
02:33risk.
02:34This new framework overlooks the importance of prioritizing an activity-based standard and
02:41a cost-benefit analysis.
02:42So, Secretary Besson, does FSOC intend to reassess the 2023 guidance so that it is more closely
02:49aligned with the thoughtful process that was created in 2019?
02:54Congresswoman, that is on our agenda.
02:58You know, as you finalize that decision, I want to emphasize that my support for a return
03:04to an activity-based standard that more appropriately addresses the risk of non-banks.
03:10Treasury, you'd be happy to work with your team on that.
03:13And finally, I'd like to urge you to continue your support for CDFI.
03:18CDFI Fund programs are statutory, as you know, and it has been critical in promoting the local
03:26economy in Orange County.
03:28So, do you still agree that the CDFI Fund has a critical role to play in fostering economic
03:34opportunity?
03:35I think I know the answer because you stated very clearly in public statements.
03:40We believe that if CDFIs follow their statutory obligations and do not digress into more ideological
03:50boundaries, they can be important institutions.
03:55As you know, last week, I attended the Financial Literacy Roundtable that your team put together,
04:02and thank you so much for inviting me.
04:04I think I just missed you.
04:07But your team was very well represented.
04:10And again, I want to thank you so much because as a co-chair of the Financial Literacy and
04:15Wealth Creation Caucus, events like that, bringing the stakeholders together, and having a meaningful
04:21dialogue and conversation, I think is critically important, and we need to continue that.
04:27So, can you talk about how you can continue to advance financial literacy initiatives now that
04:33we are past the Financial Literacy Month?
04:36I mean, I was able to take the leadership and pass the bill that, you know, proclaims month
04:44of April as the Financial Literacy Month, and I hope that we can continue to work in this
04:49space together.
04:51As you should know that it is a strong core belief of mine that financial literacy is the
04:58only path to economic independence and well-being.
05:02So, the more Americans that we can be educated, and I think we should probably go state to state,
05:09and encourage each state to put in financial literacy standards for their students.
05:15Thank you very much.
05:16The gentleman from Texas, Ms. Garcia, is recognized for five minutes.