In his opening remarks at the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs semi-annual hearing with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) addressed the impacts of Bidenomics on American families. Scott also urged Powell to increase transparency in the financial regulators' rulemaking process and reiterated calls for a re-proposal of the current Basel III Endgame proposal.
In response to questioning from Scott, Powell indicated that the Federal Reserve would likely need to put a revised Basel III Endgame proposal out for public comment.
Scott’s opening remarks included strong criticism of President Joe Biden's economic policies: "Joe Biden broke this economy and it's been very difficult to fix it. That's the bottom line." He continued by stating that everyday families are struggling due to rising prices and inflation: "Real wage growth is being eaten away by rising prices and runaway inflation."
Highlighting specific examples, Scott recalled gas prices in South Carolina in December 2020 compared to today: "I remember back in December of 2020, in South Carolina, gas was a dollar and 99 cents per gallon. Today, it's still $3.19 per gallon." He noted that such increases have had devastating effects on average American families.
Scott pointed to inflation as a significant issue: "Inflation hasn't been this size since the Jimmy Carter years," adding that many households live paycheck to paycheck. He criticized what he described as deflection tactics from the Biden administration and others: "My friends on the left want to point their fingers at anyone other than the real culprits at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Discussing recent economic measures, Scott condemned spending projects and regulations under Biden's administration as detrimental: "The progressive wish list, spending projects, and out-of-control regulations of this administration continue to eat away at American paychecks." He argued that increased government spending has driven up demand and prices.
Scott expressed particular concern about student loan forgiveness plans, claiming they disproportionately benefit higher-income households while burdening median-income families: "This forgiveness scheme will result in debt relief for 750,000 individuals from households with an average income of $300,000 or more."
He concluded by stressing the importance of transparent rulemaking processes for financial regulations like Basel III Endgame. Comparing stringent capital requirements to sidelining a star quarterback unnecessarily, he said these rules could stifle economic opportunities: “That proposal itself would cost millions of Americans their chance to own a home.”
Scott called for a complete re-proposal of Basel III Endgame with full public scrutiny: “You need to restore confidence in this rulemaking process... Pull the existing proposal and have a complete restart.”