By New York Post (Opinion) | Created at 2025-01-16 15:17:35 | Updated at 2025-01-16 18:57:20
3 hours ago
Treasury secretary nominee Soctt Bessent is facing a confirmation hearing Thursday morning.
REUTERS
Americans will face a “crushing” $4 trillion tax increase, the largest in history, if Congress doesn’t back Donald Trump’s economic agenda, and ensure the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency, Treasury Secretary nominee, Scott Bessent, will tell the Senate at his confirmation hearing Thursday morning.
“Today, I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans,” the 62-year-old billionaire hedge fund manager will say in his opening address to the Senate Finance Committee.
“We must secure supply chains that are vulnerable to strategic competitors, and we must carefully deploy sanctions as part of a whole-of-government approach to address our national security requirements. And critically, we must ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency….
“Productive investment that grows the economy must be prioritized over wasteful spending that drives inflation…
“We must make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and implement new pro-growth policies to reduce the tax burden on American manufacturers service workers and seniors.“
Bessent began his statement with a personal reflection on how his modest upbringing informs his economic outlook.
“I was born and raised in the South Carolina Low Country. My father fell into extreme financial difficulty when I was young. When I was 9 years old, I started working two summer jobs and I haven’t stopped working since. …
“My life has been the ‘only in America’ story that I am determined to preserve for future generations.”
President elect Trump is the “first president in modern times to recognize the need to change our trade policy and stand up for American workers.”
Bessent concluded on an optimistic note with a promise of economic sunshine to come once Trump’s agenda is in place.
“I firmly believe that, if confirmed, and with your counsel and support, we can usher in a new, more balanced era of prosperity that will lift up all Americans and rebuild communities and families across the country.”
