WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations Committees, joined Varney & Co. on Fox Business to discuss the budget reconciliation package, along with two Chinese nationals charged with smuggling and potential agroterrorism.
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on the need to pass the budget reconciliation package: “We certainly do respect the effort that Elon undertook with respect to government efficiency. We all want to see cost reductions, but I tell you: my number one goal is to avoid what would otherwise be a greater than $4 trillion tax increase on Americans. I talked with Kevin Hassett yesterday, the National Economic Advisor at the White House. Were that to happen, were we not to pass this, we’d have over $4.2 trillion tax increase on America that would cut GDP growth negative six percent. Certainly, the nation, the world, doesn’t need to see that happen. One of the overarching aims here is to create certainty in our tax code to stimulate more capital investment. That’s exactly what will happen if we pass this. And Leader [John] Thune is right, the Congressional Budget Office essentially conducted malpractice last time in 2017 when they tried to estimate the impact of that Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. They missed it by a trillion dollars of revenue. I’m very optimistic; this will help reduce the deficit.”
Hagerty on the prospective positive financial impacts of the budget reconciliation package: “As I talk to CEOs around the country, they want to make investments here in America, but they need certainty in terms of the rule set. We can deliver that through this bill. We need to do it quickly. And if we do it quickly, we’ll be able to see a 2026 that’s going to be an incredible move forward, lots more capital investment. That capital investment begets more employment. That employment and jobs begets more economic activity. It’s a positive feedback loop that will make America grow at a great degree, much higher than the 1.8 percent that the Congressional Budget Office predicts. And if we’re at three percent or better, we’re going to see that deficit begin to close much more rapidly.”
Hagerty on the arrest of two Chinese nationals for smuggling and potential agroterrorism: “We need to be extremely careful, particularly when you think about the movement that we’ve had with Chinese nationals, particularly those affiliated with the [People’s Liberation Army], moving into our university system. That was precisely the case here. And we need to be very, very careful about who comes in, what they’re bringing with them. And make no mistake, and I’m so pleased that [FBI Director] Kash Patel [is] in the position he’s in, because he’s seeing right through all of this. Make no mistake: the Chinese Communist Party is not our friend. This sort of infiltration, this act of agroterrorism is the last thing we need to see on American soil. And the only way to prevent it is by waking up and realizing that we’ve got to be extraordinarily careful as we allow anybody to come into this country.”
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