Crapo, Bessent Stress Need to Pass Tax Bill

Washington, D.C.--At a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) emphasized that allowing the 2017 Trump tax cuts to expire would result in widespread job losses, reduced capital investment and a more-than $4 trillion tax hike on American families and businesses.  Secretary Bessent warned the consequences would be “cataclysmic for the economy if this is not extended and working Americans would bear the brunt.” 

Secretary Bessent also explained that making the tax cuts permanent will spur increased business investment, job growth and wage increases. He and Chairman Crapo also discussed the bill’s impact on the economy, predicting that, in conjunction with the Trump economic agenda,  the legislation will propel economic growth.

Click here to watch Senator Crapo’s opening statement and here or above to watch Crapo question Bessent.

On the impact of allowing the Trump tax cuts to expire:

Crapo: Nobody can deny that our top focus is to extend the TCJA.  Could you tell us for just a minute what would happen if Congress does not extend the 2017 tax code?

Bessent: Senator, I believe it would be what is known in economics as a “sudden stop.”  It would be cataclysmic for the economy if this is not extended, and, as always, working Americans would bear the brunt.  There would be job losses, economic losses in markets, a substantial increase in our budget deficit due to a decrease in tax revenues.  It is unthinkable what would happen.

On the importance of pro-growth tax reform:

Crapo: Can you talk about the importance of the pro-growth tax provisions, the economic impact and some of the existing and new provisions will have on workers?

Bessent: Making [TCJA] permanent will be an economic impetus to the U.S. economy as households and businesses have greater certainty.  I've met with numerous business leaders, and while they are confident that the bill will pass, without 100 percent surety, they are holding back on their capital expenditure plans. . . . In terms of households, TCJA  led to strong non-inflationary growth, as opposed to what we saw during the Biden years of substantial inflation.  The President's proposals will benefit working Americans and the bottom 50 percent of wage earners.  So it is a unique combination that it will provide substantial business stimulus and it will provide substantial relief to the affordability crisis that has been generated over the past four years.

Rebutting criticism that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is a tax cut for billionaires:

Crapo: Critics have called this bill a tax cut for billionaires, even when the data show that middle income families benefited the most from the Trump tax cuts and have the most to lose if they expire.  Can you tell us what the benefits of this legislation are for working families who are still recovering from the cost of record inflation under the previous Administration?

Bessent: They will see substantial increases in their household income and, more importantly, they will see real wage growth as they did under TCJA, pre-COVID—when hourly workers did better than supervisory workers.  The bottom 50 percent of working Americans had household net worth increases that were substantially in excess of the top 10 percent and 1 percent household increases.

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