Brian Fitzpatrick Presses Secretary Scott Bessent About The Treasury’s Ability To Sanction Russian Oil

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During Wednesday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Scott Bessent (R-PA) questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about sanctioning Russian gas and oil.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us today.

00:04I want to begin by discussing a bill which I've introduced here in the House,

00:08Lindsey Graham in the Senate, the Sanctioning Russia Act.

00:12As you know, Mr. Secretary, this legislation requires sweeping sanctions

00:16on all those individuals, financial institutions, and other entities affiliated

00:20with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It establishes a 500% tariff on all imports

00:26from Russia to the United States as well as on products from any nation

00:31which continues to enable this war through the purchase of Russian origin oil

00:35and natural gas. Mr. Secretary, this committee

00:38and this Congress have an obligation to provide

00:42the administration with the tools necessary to deliver

00:47lasting peace through strength. The Sanctioning Russia Act

00:51has strong support from many on this dais and in the House

00:55and has 84 out of 100 U.S. Senators currently signing on

00:59as co-sponsors.

01:01So my first question, Mr. Secretary, how well is the Department of Treasury

01:06ready and able to implement legislation of this scope

01:09should it become law?

01:11Thank you for this very important point.

01:15So economic tools remain an important facet of the administration's strategy

01:19to end the conflict. All the options are on the table. Treasury is ready to take action

01:25to facilitate a durable and lasting peace. We have existing U.S. sanctions

01:30and export controls on Russia that remain in place and continue to be enforced.

01:35I'm aware of the legislation. I would encourage Congress to continue to let this administration

01:42have flexibility to support the negotiations.

01:48We should be aware of unintended consequences.

01:53Specifically, what resources does OFAC require to ensure that sanctions are executed swiftly as intended?

02:02We have all the resources that we need, sir.

02:06Okay. And I want to point out, Mr. Secretary, we appreciate the administration's support of this legislation

02:11to maximize the administration's leverage to deal with Mr. Putin.

02:17Separately from sanctions, but on a related topic, can you speak to what steps the United States,

02:24and particularly the Treasury Department, Mr. Secretary, I know you had a big role to play

02:27in the mineral agreement. Thank you for that.

02:30Any steps you can share of the Treasury Department taking to implement the April 30th agreement,

02:37which establishes a joint reconstruction investment fund in support of the long-term economic success of Ukraine?

02:44Yes. And just, Congressman, just as I have said, with the U.S., economic security is national security.

02:52National security is economic security.

02:54President Trump and I believe that a strong, sound Ukrainian economy over the long term will be their best defense.

03:03When the Berlin Wall came down, Poland and Ukraine economies were the same size.

03:11Now Poland's is three times larger.

03:13I believe that we could imagine in two decades that Ukrainian economy, through good management,

03:20through a partnership like this and global investment, could be larger than the Russian economy.

03:27And I think that that would provide a very, prove an extreme deterrent for whomever is running Russia then.

03:39I would say this partnership, we are working on operationalizing it quickly.

03:44There's going to be, we had members of the Ukrainian economic team in our offices at Treasury last week.

03:53There's going to be a big conference in Rome about rebuilding Ukraine.

03:57We are urging the World Bank to focus on this.

04:01And Congressman, I believe that you will be in extreme agreement with me on this,

04:08that we are dedicated and confirmed the fact that no country, no country contributed to the Russian war machine

04:19through monies, through troops, or through military parts or any parts used for military, Russian military weapons

04:30will be eligible to participate in the rebuilding of the Ukraine.

04:35You do not get to destroy a country, destroy people, ruin lives, and then get paid to rebuild it.

04:42Thank you for that, sir.

04:43Just very quickly revisiting, you said you wanted flexibility.

04:47This legislation is designed to give the administration maximum flexibility and pressure to end this conflict.

04:55It's got a ton of co-sponsors in the House, 84 out of 100 U.S. senators.

04:59Is there any changes specifically you'd like to see made to that legislation?

05:03Congressman, I'm happy to have my staff work with you on that,

05:08and it is good to see that some things can get done on a bipartisan basis.

05:12Thank you, sir.

05:13I yield back.

05:14Thank you, Mr. Evans.

05:15Thank you, Mr. Evans.

05:25Thank you, Mr. Evans.

05:26Thank you, Mr. Evans.

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