Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Testifies on Capitol Hill

In May, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee in a hearing titled “The Annual Testimony of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the International Financial System.” The hearing focused on the impact of tariffs, outbound investment, the Basel III Endgame, recent market volatility, digital assets regulatory framework, and the role of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, among other topics. Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) stated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank play an important role in advancing U.S. interests abroad but have in the recent years surrendered to “mission creep,” instead of focusing on poverty reduction and facilitating trust in the United States. Chairman Hill noted the Chinese Communist Party’s opaque, predatory lending to developing countries needs to be restructured and he called for greater transparency at the IMF. He added that if the IMF focused on a “back-to-basics approach,” they would instead focus on public health, education, and infrastructure rather than climate change. Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) emphasized the detrimental impact of the Trump tariffs and noted that inflation remains a problem and housing affordability continues to be a challenge because of the recent tariffs. The Ranking Member also pressed Secretary Bessent on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to the Treasury’s payment systems and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) database. To this point, the Treasury Secretary pushed back and cited that the employees accessing the Treasury systems were not DOGE employees, rather they were categorized as Treasury employees at the time they had access.

Click here to read Secretary Bessent’s written testimony.
Click here to watch an archived video of the House hearing.