'I Think That's Un-American': Hassan Spars With Sec. Bessent Over Trump's Tax Cuts, Tariff Policy

7 months ago

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) grilled Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the Trump Administration's trade policies, and tax cuts.

Transcript

00:00Senator Hassan. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair and Ranking Member Wyden, and good morning, Mr. Secretary.

00:06Thank you for joining us this morning. Secretary Besson, in your confirmation hearing, I asked you

00:12whether any of President Trump's policies would increase costs for families. You said that there

00:18is, quote, nothing I can immediately think of, close quote. Mr. Secretary, have costs for new

00:24parents increased or decreased under President Trump? I'm not sure how you're defining that,

00:31but overall inflation is down for the first time in three years. Well, let me provide you with some

00:38data then. The answer is that costs have gone up for new parents. As a ranking member of the Joint

00:44Economic Committee, I just released a report this morning that shows that costs have gone up nearly

00:5025% for the most popular baby items since Trump's main tariffs were imposed. This includes a price

00:58increase of more than $40 for the most popular infant seat on, car seat on Amazon. And Mr. Chair,

01:06with unanimous consent, I'd like to enter the JEC Minority Report. Without objection. Thank you.

01:13Secretary, with his reckless tariffs, the President has imposed a 10% national sales tax on

01:19imports into our country. So, Mr. Secretary, do Americans pay tariffs?

01:26The Senator, thus far, we have seen no price increases due to tariffs.

01:32Well, what I just asked you was whether Americans pay the tariffs.

01:39Again, as I told the ranking member, Walmart has decided to pass along some portion of the tariffs.

01:46That is a private decision. Amazon and Home Depot have not.

01:50Well, let me just tell you, let me tell you what's happened to one small New Hampshire business.

01:55And can we have the charts up here?

01:58Because you're essentially testifying that Americans don't really pay the Presidents across

02:03the board 10% tariffs.

02:05Behind me is a receipt from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection showing that a small distiller in Salem,

02:12New Hampshire paid the United States government $2,600 in the President's new tariffs on a single shipment

02:19of lemons from Italy. And I have the same receipt for about the same size shipment that they had before

02:26the tariffs went into effect. And that $2,600 was not on the receipt back in, I think it was March.

02:34So, since you testified that Americans don't pay the President's tariffs, will the Treasury reimburse

02:40this New Hampshire small business for these tariffs that they paid to the United States government?

02:45Again, Senator, a luxury product from Italy.

02:48I think we have to look in the aggregate, and the aggregate is showing us that thus far,

02:56contrary to many wishes, that there has been no inflation from tariffs.

03:02So, first of all, this is a small distiller in Salem, New Hampshire that employs people.

03:09And now it's got a monthly or bimonthly expense of $2,600 it didn't have.

03:14And it's either going to, you know, lay people off, stop producing some of its products,

03:23but its business isn't going to grow with a new $2,600 charge unless it's going to pass on the price

03:29to American consumers. So, I just want to be clear, you all need to own up to the fact

03:35that tariffs are taxes, they are a sales tax. I think you noted in the Oval Office recently that

03:42the President's tariffs would raise $2.8 trillion over a decade.

03:46I was quoting the CBO.

03:48So, okay, so the CBO now says it. So, that's now about a $3 trillion tax that Americans will pay.

03:54No, ma'am.

03:55A sales tax.

03:56Much of that is being absorbed by the producers.

03:59Well, that certainly isn't true for new parents.

04:01In addition to the five popular products on Amazon that new parents need, there's another,

04:10we did another analysis on a baby list registry, new parents in America will pay total over the

04:17next year about $875 more for their products than they would have paid before the President's tariffs.

04:23Now, lastly, I just want to note that the CBO has made clear that the Republican budget bill

04:32will take away health care from millions and millions of Americas, both Medicaid coverage

04:39and the Affordable Care Act coverage. Not to mention, it will trigger a $500 billion cut

04:45to Medicare that will impact providers and rural hospitals. So, and it will add trillions of dollars

04:51to the national debt. So, Mr. Secretary, this is all to pay for massive tax cuts to millionaires

04:57and billionaires. Why, sir, do you need a tax cut at the expense of health care for millions

05:03of Americans?

05:03Well, I would dispute those numbers. 1.4 million illegal aliens receive Medicaid.

05:10But the CBO, first of all, they don't receive federal Medicaid dollars. And secondly, the CBO says

05:19without counting that, it's still, I think, 11 or 12 million Americans who are going to have their

05:26health care ripped away so that people in your income bracket can get massive tax breaks. I think

05:32that's un-American and I think that's unfair and I think the American people understand that too.

05:36Thank you, Mr. Chair.

'I Think That's Un-American': Hassan Spars With Sec. Bessent Over Trump's Tax Cuts, Tariff Policy

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