US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is headed for a grilling before Republican-led House committees this month, where she’ll likely be pressed on the Biden administration’s management of the economy against the backdrop of a looming debt-limit crisis.
(Bloomberg) — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is headed for a grilling before Republican-led House committees this month, where she’ll likely be pressed on the Biden administration’s management of the economy against the backdrop of a looming debt-limit crisis.
She’s expected to testify multiple times this month on Capitol Hill, beginning with an appearance Friday before the House Ways and Means Committee to answer questions about President Joe Biden’s proposed budget. A second hearing is scheduled for March 16 before the Senate Finance Committee. More hearings are expected to be confirmed.
Yellen hasn’t testified on the Hill since June, and the reception she’ll receive may be chillier this time, with Republicans now controlling committees on the House side.
Yellen is likely to repeat her demand that lawmakers lift the statutory debt limit without spending cuts, which Republicans have demanded, while lawmakers are expected press for more details on the Treasury’s estimate of when a default would occur.
Her testimony will follow two days of hearings with another top economic leader, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The central bank has drawn political fire recently, mostly from Democrats, for the economic damage expected from its aggressive interest-rate hikes, which are aimed at cooling inflation. Republicans, meanwhile, have blamed the Biden administration’s pandemic-era stimulus for driving that surge in consumer prices.
Republicans will also likely laser in on the $80 billion appropriated to rebuild and modernize the Internal Revenue Service. At the GOP extremes, the step has been labeled as government overreach, while the administration says the money will be used to upgrade technology, improve customer service and crack down on high-income tax avoiders.
Yellen just returned from a surprise trip to Ukraine, where she sought to show the results of US economic aid to the embattled country, which some Republicans have questioned.
She’s also likely to field tough questions on the following issues:
- Biden’s budget is sure to be a flashpoint, especially after the president revealed he’ll seek a tax hike for households earning above $400,000 a year as part of a plan to extend the solvency of Medicare, the government-provided health plan for seniors
- Yellen can count on being asked for her economic outlook, and she’ll likely face questions about inflation; stronger-than-expected price pressures in January have raised the specter of more interest-rate increases than previously anticipated
- Lawmakers may press her on whether US and allied sanctions against Russia are having their intended effect; Yellen recently acknowledged that Russian gross domestic product was proving more resilient than expected
- Yellen has made it clear she hopes to travel to China this year as part of an effort to improve communication between Washington and Beijing; lawmakers may wish to hear whether that plan is still on
- The Treasury chief may also be asked to explain the Biden administration’s decision to nominate Mastercard Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga to head the World Bank
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