Gina ewing testified that the Biden Administration has driven a historic recovery over the last three years and address the need for Regulatory Framework stable corns and Digital Assets. Intelligence and the financials actor. This is about two hours. Committee on banking an the committee will come to order. Secretary ellen who has been taxable in the schedule and we had to change the time from yesterday to today and then she has to leave at 11 30. We will risk back that. I will enforce the five minute rule on myself and everyone else. Thank you for understanding, all of you. For a long time, its clear what gets rewarded and wall street. Bigger risks mean bigger profits. Your profits mean more stock options. Bigger profits mean fatter bonuses. Then we end up with a wall street culture that glorifies seen just how much they can get away with. Executives know that when big bets pay off, they get to cash out and when is bets failed, they dont clean up the mess. Workers and taxpayers and our communities will always. Thats what financial fiascoes boil down to. Their system encourages bad decisions and leads to an economy of access for executives in a shrinking middle class. Its how we get east palestine. The ceo of stalin does make 365 times what the average worker makes. We saw the story play out 11 months ago. Svp and other poorly run banks but trofa had of basic Risk Management and then as they imploded, small but this is all over the country worried how that make payroll if they could not access deposits themselves. Regulators had to step in as they always do to protect our economy while the executives walk away pretty happy. 2008 was the same story but on a bigger scale. Wall street took big risks with americans money just Like Silicon Valley Bank did wall street figured out it could make even bigger bets by exploiting gaps in our regulatory system. Always enticed a huge bonus is, wrist taking built up in the shadows until its too late to contain and we know how it turned out. Chaos and wall street put 9 million americans out of work. Millions lost their homes and wealth to fork leisure. I sighed in my own neighborhood is a 44105 more foreclosures in the first half of 2007 then any zip code in the united dates of america. A mess thats darted in new york boardrooms with big, burly supervised wall street companies, spreading two neighborhoods are in the countries, swallowing up hot homes, jobs and livelihoods. Some dismiss this its all in the past, all history. A once in a century catastrophe. We dont need to worry about that anymore but it showed us how wall street is always, always, always trying to hide the same old risky behaviors in new terms that their pr team has cooked up. They will not give up on in new ways to get around the rules so they can make bigger bets and make bigger profits. We let them get away with no oversight or safe guards read americans pay the price. Workers the price. We said too many times, 14 years ago we created the financial oversight console for all of our regulators which the distinguished secretary cherished. Her job is to monitor financial risk wherever it develops while other regulators only police some kinds of businesses. They take a birdseye 30,000 foot view of our Financial System. When they try to avoid the rules, they react. Their job is to close gaps in our system covering blind spots that anyone agency might have and can make sure safe guards are in place. The biggest, riskiest Financial Companies play a Critical Role in stopping the next hole in our economy and ending the cycle of bailout and long parachute for negatives with workers always stuck with the consequences. Its important as ever today. Financial companies, hedge funds, Insurance Companies holding nearly 28 trillion in assets. Over the last decade, the larger. These days, these companies are responsible for a lot of activity on wall street. These firms sitting in the middle of our biggest markets. Understanding employers cash to make payroll, finance buyouts, service mortgages or make huge bats with millions of dollars using money from workers pensions. Because these companies have become so central it would be all too easy for just one of them to drag down our Financial System. They have the same deeprooted temptation to take on more risk for a big payday. As anyone else and wall street does are even riskier. We know if one of these friends collapses, the executives will be just fine, but most of the country including zip code 44105 wouldnt. Thats why its so important when wall street tries to shape shift. Have sock must be there to take action on our economy. Its not a surprise that wall street and their allies have always wanted to kill anything that holds them accountable. Their lobbyists fought, viciously, some say to try to stop this. I think everybody in this committee remembers if they were here after we passed it. The chief lobbyist of Financial Services roundtable after we passed the bill. The chief lobbyist for the largest finance group of companies in the country said now its halftime. Now its halftime. Out of task their lobbyists for trying to block the council from doing its job, forcing it to sit on its and as risk builds up for they wanted to go as some of the most important tools for keeping our economy safe from reckless wall street behavior. They make wall street nervous which is why they fight so hard against what they are doing. Bringing oversight and accountability in the dark. They work to undermine its ability to impose safeguards of the riskiest Financial Firms. The message from the last administration was there. They are not really watching and will not really act. How wrong it was. It is changing today. They are in a better position to make sure that bad bets on wall street dont crush main street. They are focused on responding to new emerging risks or Financial System. Risks weve talked about before. Change in Artificial Intelligence as well as the old risk like shadow banks. They are also monitoring how commercial property markets affect our Banking System. An important concern given what weve seen just this week. In response for the critical work to safeguard National Security by cracking down on the system of finance. I work look forward to working with her to combat all the ways that bad actors are finding their activities including with new tools like Digital Assets. We cannot allow another financial crisis or another financial crash, sorry. Whatever the risk may come from, to set workers and consumers back. We need an economy where hard work, not financial speculation , pays off. A system that works for everyone. Not just for corporations, tax funds, their lobbyists who have far too much influence on this community. We know were still far from that economy and we have to link in corporate profiteering. Every time americans go to the grocery store, they play pay for stock backs, for executives. Every time they go to the grocery store, the paper stock buybacks and executive bonuses. What we see now is big things raising millions of dollars in a peer campaign to stop capital rules. We will make sure the taxpayers dont have to bailout another bank failure all to keep their lifestyles, all to keep their profits high. In this committee, we worked every day to and a system that rewards risky behavior with piles of Company Stock and huge cash bonus is instead of real economy and thats why this committee passed the bipartisan read act last year to crack down on the broken system. Its why we created this mission that is so important. Secretary ellen, thank you for rearranging your schedule to be with us. Can forward to it. And forward to being here today. We will have lots of questions about the economy and the state of affairs. It seems like some of my friends on the other side live in an alternate universe. The average american sees the economy that we have today and they just shake their heads. They cant understand what people in washington simply cant see. Two thirds of americans do not have 1000 in their savings account the Biden Administration has decimated, destroyed, leveled family after family after family. Inflation, 18 , and its not coming down, period and food up 20 . Energy 20 precast, 40 . Being raised in a family like i was raised in, a singleparent household and poverty, its not a problem. Its a crisis. A crisis brought to us by the Biden Administration and people who philosophically believe that a bigger government somehow leads to more success. That taking money out of their paychecks so that people have to figure out how to spend it better than the and here will somehow lead to a Better Future for their heads. Thats what we call in South Carolina hogwash. We also have the response ability to look at matters concerning National Security. Whether thats root and icing tools to better curve this influence or to curb cartels trafficking drugs across our borders and bad actors like iran. I wish you were here four months ago as a us to do to be here at the devastating attacks that hamas leveled on israel on october 7th. How much shame to know that this administration and your department continue to release billions of dollars to iran, helping them youll and fund their terror proxies. The American People and our israeli allies deserve an accounting for this administrations reckless release of 6 billion in august. And after october the seventh, another 10 billion in november and not to mention relaxing the sanctions that allowed hundreds of billions of dollars to flow because of the oil revenue. Thats devastating. Raising the alarm high in 24. My republican colleagues send you a letter demanding answers on how you can continue to to provide billions of dollars that we know Fund Terrorism throughout the middle east and destroy, devastate and eliminate so many israeli citizens, our strongest ally in the middle east. Partially funded by resources released by this administration and your department of treasury. Ive not seen a sense of urgency. I have not seen accountability. We find that frustrating. Just look at whats happening around the globe. Since october, there have been over 150 attacks by iran backed terrorist groups against american servicemembers. As tragic as that is, it also led to the loss of the lives of two navy seals and three members of our United States army. 30 servicemembers injured. These are American Patriot who put their lives on the line and we should have their backs. No one fears u. S. Deterrence because there is no u. S. Deterrence to fear and that lack of deterrence certainly encompasses the treasurys role in allowing funds to be released to known terrorist supporting regimes. The Biden Administrations policies have shifted America Forward in a position of strength on the world stage to a position of weakness for all to see the billiondollar paydays to our adversaries must stop. Its time to defend american servicemembers and american interests abroad and this starts with ending any payments, any relaxation of sanctions to iran. But defending america is not just about looking overseas. Its also about here at home. From a border crisis to a fentanyl emergency, we must use our economic tools to stop the flow of internal coming into this country. 75,000 american lives have been lost to fentanyl. When we have known it National Security threats crossing our border and fentanyl production facilities popping up across mexico with the help of chinese pell presses and Chinese Workers and precursors, we have a massive problem. Too Many Americans live, live lives with family members lost. Devastation that so many families feel today is undeniable because of fentanyl. My friend lost his son last year less than a year ago to fentanyl. We can do so much more, and there is so little action to stop what we know is a killer across our southern border. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we and this crisis and how he and this race is now. Timeout time see this administration placing artisan issues above the American People. The results of biden economics as i said earlier is devastating. Talking about gas prices, energy prices, food prices, the lack of savings. We have to ask ourselves, how can American Families achieve the American Dream when so many of them have so little money in their savings account . How can an average millennial afford to become a firsttime homebuyer when Interest Rates are so high because of inflation is not transitory, its permanent. Brought to us by the Biden Administration. We should not do what weve seen done on the global stage from you and this administration. Focus more on leading the European Countries are helping me your countries devastate american businesses requirement policies. Go to china and spend more time talking about policy than we do ip theft. I know this sounds like a lot, but youve been given an awesome rest ons ability to improve the economy, protect america and and lead us to a Better Future. Instead of that, weve seen proposals that allow for this government to spy on america accounts with as little as 600 in transactions. It will and with this. I know your jurisdiction is the financial crimes enforcement and weve seen and heard abuses using their power to track americans for shopping at Sporting Goods stores, purchasing bibles and making transactions with political keywords. I sent a letter to you just a few weeks ago specifically asking about these allegations. The Treasury Department should provide materials have been providing materials to financial and tuitions researching americans Financial Transactions using technology that reveal political interest. I would love to hear a response to that. If true, this is a gross abuse of power grid it was created to stop Money Laundering not to spy on americans. It was not created for political motivation. I conclude with this. America deserves better. Than what the Biden Administration and the department of treasury has delivered to the. Senator scott, secretary, please proceed. Thanks for joining us again. Thank you, good morning. Chairman, Ranking Member scott, members of the committee my thank you for advice inviting me to testify took over the past three years, the Biden Administration is driven to historic recovery. Gdp growth is strong and in addition has the wind significantly. Weve also achieved a healthy labor market. The primate Labor Force Participation rate is up by over two Percentage Points from january 2021. The Unemployment Rate remains below 4 . Continuing the longest streak in 50 years. Real wages have increased. Household median wealth has, too, by 37 between 2019 and 2022. Thats the largest three year increase on record and families are now putting their additional income and accumulated savings back into the economy. Our continued economic strength depends on a solid and resilient u. S. Financial system. Throughout 2023, the Financial StabilityOversight Council monitored a wide range of risks. Including risks stemming from commercial and Residential Real Estate sectors and answer global conflicts and technological developments. When two regional banks failed last march, we acted quickly to banks with several similar vulnerabilities to maintain confidence in the Banking System. The council also increased transparency this year issuing an analytic framework for the first time that provides the public with indepth information on how it monitors, assesses and responds to potential financial risks. Let me now highlight five areas of ongoing work better with her detailed in the councils 2023 annual report. First the council is focused on risks from the Banking Sector there and from nonbank Financial Institutions. It supports member agent these plans to review capital measures, appropriate reflect the banking and the tuitions ability to prove losses. Large conflicts, interconnected banks and addressing vulnerabilities in intervals and depositor composition. NonFinancial Institutions are an important source of capital in Financial Markets but also pose a potential risk to the Financial System, including risks related to the liquidity mismatch and leverage. Securities and Exchange Commission initiatives focused on hedge funds, money market funds and other Investment Funds are in importance in the forward year. As long as the council is focused on agencies enhance assessment efforts