Statistics will tell the story. Look at the eye in the sky with respect to Economic Growth and the performance of this economy under the tax cuts and the regulatory relief. Lowest unemployment in 50 years. Millions of job crease ated. More jobs than we have people to fill them. Historic growth in wages. And more growth on the low end of income spectrum than on the high end. More growth for the worker worker than the supervisor in terms of wage growth. Millions have moved off of out of poverty, off of dependency on government welfare to selfsufficiency. Enjoying the blessing and the dignity of a job. On average, americans are taking home about 5,000 more thanks to tax cuts. By the way, tax revenues are up. Now, politicians can be skewed in their perspective. Distorted. By politics. And so lets ask the American People because quite frankly, mr. Secretary, those are the folks that matter most to me an President Trump and im sure to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Lets find out what we the people think about this Economic Growth. And their quality of life today in this great country. 63 of americans approve of the job that this president is doing with respect to economic policies. 90 of americans are satisfied. 84 democrats are satisfied. Over half of democrats in this country are very satisfied. 60 of americans say they are better off this year than they were last year. Thats a record. 75 of americans believe theyll be better off next year than they are this year. Thats a record. Now, lets come to west texas with me. Lets go to my backyard and lets talk to some real americans, hardwork, godfearing and layne like jose value encey la. Valenzuela, b jose has a job, a business called unique solution he does remodeling and landscaping and handyman services. He says that business is booming. He says that hes noticed that the jobs hes doing are not just for highend people but for middle income and lower income folks. His brother lane decided hes going to do more work on the side because of the opportunity. Hes bought a truck and cargo trailer. He said, quote, theres no shortage of opportunity in this economy if you have the drive and willpower to work hard. Chris seal, another job creator in abilene, texas, the big county, because of tax cuts hes expanded his operation 35,000 square feet. Hes added 60 new jobs. And stories like this, mr. Secretary are countless. On behalf of the hardworking people they represent in west texas, thank you for helping us restore americas greatness. And restore america as the land of opportunity. For this people and for the next generation of americans. God bless you. And i yield back. Let me recognize the gentleman from nevada, mr. Horsford. Mr. Horsford thank you, mr. Chairman, thank you, mr. Secretarying for being here today. Secretary mnuchin, you participated in separate Bilateral Meet wgs the ministers of Foreign Affairs and ministers of Water Resources of egypt and sudan. You have been part of the debate surrounding the agreement on the filling and operation of the grand ethiopian renaissance dam based on provisions proposed by the legal and technical teams of egypt, ethiopia and sudan and with the technical input of the world bank. Its my understanding that the administration contends we have a balanced approach on this issue, taking into account the interests of the three countries at the core of the conversation. However, there has been some discrepancy in reporting reporting on this eadministrations announcement. Specifically, ethiopias Foreign Ministry stated that ethiopia does not accept the characterization that the negotiation on the guidelines and rules on the first filling and annual operation of the gird is completed you know, mr. Speaker, this is sensitive conversation and a critical negotiation that can impact the overall safety and security of the region. So my question is, what do you and the what are you and the administration doing to counter the narrative that not all parties are happy in this agreement and to ensure that all parties are heard in the critical debate . Secretary mnuchin thank you for bringing that up, ive spent a lot of time on this i think its an important topic for the region. The dam can be an important resource to the region, creating electricity for many people that dont have electricity. But it is obvious also grave concern. Theres safety concerns. Heres water concerns. Mr. Horsford my primary question is what are you doing to ensure all parties feel they are heard and the United States is not impose manager so than aving a balanced role . Secretary mnuchin for eight years they have been arguing about this and made no progress. Mr. Horsford what are we doing to make sure that people feel that this is a balanced approach . Secretary mnuchin we have had over 10 meetings of all three kings here. We have been trying to bring the parties together. Theyve made enormous profwress. We were incredibly disappointed that ethiopia didnt show up at the last for the last meeting. Where we are now is, sudan and eyipt have said which we agree, with, that ethiopia should not build the dam until theres an agreesm thats a safety issue. Mr. Horsford reclaiming my time. Im happy to follow up withulater. I think if you balance this approach then maybe ethiopia can come back to the table. Id also be remiss if i did not mention an issue thats critical for nevada and an area we we ought to be able to find commop ground. The current minimum threshold for reporting slot machine winnings is 1,200 for a single machine payout and has not been adjusted for inflation or changed since the requirement was implemented in 1977. Adjusted for inflation the threshold would be around 5,000. So mr. Secretary, my question is, has the Treasury Department considered changing the slot machine winnings threshold . Secretary mnuchin im not aware of it, but you bring up an interesting point. Well follow up and get back to you. Mr. Horsford thank you. The final point i would raise, mr. Chairman, to the secretary, we would love to work with you. I heard my colleague, mr. Lahood, talk about the need to invest in skills training and work force, particularly around the infrastructure bill. I have several proposals we would like to get your support along with the chairman to advance in the infrastructure package. Thank you and i yield back. Secretary mnuchin thank you. And i want to congratulate the ntleman about raising thank you. And i want to congratulate the gentleman about raising a new topic. Youve heard from other colleagues previously, i and many bipartisan members of congress sent you a letter asking you to work with the committee to implement the 199a rule based on the congressional intent and fix this problem. Can we get your assurance that youre willing to work with us to find a landing zone for all this . Secretary mnuchin theres nothing id rather fix than these regulations. I look forward to working with the chairman and kevin brady to resolve. This thank you for that mr. Chairman, i ask unanimous cob sent to include in the record the bipartisan letter we submitted to the secretary, dated february 20, 2020. Along with letters supporting this from the National Coop network and others. So ordered. I worked with senator tiberi and others, there were key provisions that passed the tax reform bill that was left out. So we have, mr. Kelly and i along with others on the committee introduced Bipartisan Legislation called the Opportunity Zone accountability and Transparency Act to enhance the accountability, the transparency, the reporting requirements, to make sure the Opportunity Zones are being implemented the right way according to congressional intent. I ask your and the administrations support for the follow up legislation right now and work with us to make sure the Opportunity Zone which is i think holds a lot of promise out there including in my large rural district as being done the right way, according to the cop gregsal intent and also helping us pass this followup legislation. Secretary mnuchin were happy to work with you on that and whatever else you have on that were mape to work with it. Finally, mr. Speaker mr. Secretary, there are warning clouds on the economic horizon. One of the key data points i have been keeping a close eye on is whether or not this economy of ours is debt fueled. In the last go years, corporate debt has gone up by 1. 5 trillion. Just in the last two years alone. Household debt has gone up by roughly 1. 5 trillion. Consumer Credit Card Debt has gone up by 30 billion from roughly 700 billion to 830 billion in just the last two years. Student loan debt has gone up almost 3 trillion from 1 trillion to . 3 trillion. Our annual budget deficits are exceeding trillion dollars on an annual basis with no end in sight are you concerned, as i am, that if things do turn south, whether its coronavirus or some other reason, the Economic Data wasnt particularly strong domestically when it came to greth even before the coronavirus broke out, that these fundamentals may appear a little weak to withstand a significant economic downturn which may be upon us . Secretary mnuchin let me just comment, as our budget does, i think the deficits over time need to be dealt with. Fundamentally we have to grow revenues faster than expenses. In regards to corporate debt and other things, i share your concern on student debt, student loan debt. The other areas im not as concerned about. I think we have a lot of liquidity in the system. It was announced that the fed reduced Interest Rates by five basis point the market is still doing gown is still going down significantly. Im doubt ffl that type of effort can deal with the Global Pandemic because of the factors underlying it. Are you anticipate anything Global Central Bank coordination when it comes to addressing the Coronavirus Spread with the Global Economy . Or are we on our own . Secretary mnuchin i did have a call this morning with the g7 finance ministers and central bank governors. We are very much focused on coordinated action where we can do that and appropriate responses. Thank you, mr. Secretary. I yield back. Let me recognize the gentleman from kansas, mr. Estes, to inquire. Mr. Estes thank you. Thank you, secretary, for being here. We appreciate your involvement, your active role and actually the amount of questions we have peppered you with have been a wide variety of subjects this morning. Before i make my comments i want to correct a couple of things that were said earlier. One was that Drug Companies are taking their reduced taxes from the tax cuts and jobs act and benefiting from that. Actually what is happening is over the next several years theyre going to invest 27 billion into new cures and new capital expenses. Thats one of those thing thats a positive thing out of the tax cuts and jobs act. The second thing i want to at least note, there were some claims made that companies are not paying taxes and actually the tax cuts and jobs act makes it more difficult for big ompanies to avoid taxes. Because it changes the n. O. L. Rule. Also companies that may not have profits in a particular year the data disregards the book tax differences such as expensing for tax incentives like green Energy Credits or the lihtc, that is, supported by democrats and some republicans. I encourage all members who are confused about these differents to read the joint committees document repaired for our hearing on the Corporate Income tax which addresses some of these issues. Mr. Speaker, i do want to commend you for your work helping guide the american economy. Weve had some record, some phenomenal things over the last few years in terms of looking at our low unemployment. The Economic Growth weve had. And the fact that now we have more open jobs than we do job seekers. Thats a huge plus for first time in america. All that is laying a Great Foundation for our economy to keep growing. Also want to mention as we mentioned previously, thank you for your work on the Digital Service tax, some of that, obviously theres some efforts coming in from other countries, its disappointing that starting with france but also other countries like the u. K. Have copy catted the french d. S. T. When the administration here in the u. S. Has been clear that we need to act against countries that have those unfair taxes. We want to make sure we support the u. S. Trade representatives as they work to resolve the issues with the french tax thats unreasonable discriminatory and burdens u. S. Commerce. I can assure you that theres bipartisan and bicameral support for an oecd solution. I want you to know weve got your back in work that youre doing there. I do want to ask one question around that. Do you think its wise for the u. K. To look at implementing the d. S. T. While theyre in the middle of trade discussions with us. Secretary mnuchin we have had discussions with the u. K. The good news is their tax doesnt get collected until next year. They in essence are in the same place as the french. Mr. Estes thank you. Before i run out of time i want to mention one other thing ive been working on before i came to congress, and it was mentioned earlier by representative davis, about the savings bond and the issues there. As kansas state treasurer it was important to me to help return money back to american citizens, to kansans in particular, and so i actually pursued some Legal Options to make sure that happens. Ive been proud to work with representative davis and happy and help introduce the unclaimed savings bond act to help ensure collaboration between the treasury secretary. I recognize the complexities of converting microfish data over, im glad weve got funding to help you do that, look forward to getting that resolved. Let me recognize the gentleman from new york, mr. Higgins, to inquire. Mr. Higgins thank you very much. Mr. Secretary, you have dedicated for a 20year treasury note my understanding is bond sales could start as early as may of this year. And the government is trying to do a couple of things. Lock in low rates and find more options to help fund itself, in addition to new potential spending. It seems to me that you are an advocate for infrastructure spending, the president has indicated that, our chairman has been very bullish on the idea of infrastructure spending. Not only for the bricks and mortar, the improvements, to the efficient soif the operation, the economy, but the growth that could come with that. Do you see a scenario where the 20year treasury note could assist in financing a major infrastructure bill. Let me reiterate we look forward to working with the chairman and the committee on infrastructure. At the end of the day, cash is fungible. Were issue 20g years because we think its the right thing to do. The government as youve outlined to expand our borrowing capability and lengthen our duration. Thats independent of infrastructure but we do want to do infrastructure. Mr. Higgins whats the average yield right now relative to treasury notes . Secretary mnuchin the average yield of what . Mr. Higgins what would be the interest that the government for issuing debt over the 20year period locking in today . Secretary mnuchin i dont want to speculate on something that could be market sensitive. We have 10year bonds and 20year bonds, its incredibly low Interest Rates as you know, were at historically low Interest Rates at the moment. Mr. Higgins given that fact, doesnt it make most sense to look at financing infrastructure in that way which will likely increase economic demand and growth that could put us in a position where were outdistancing the interest were paying to issue debt to financing . Secretary mnuchin im agreing that in a low Interest Rate environment, infrastructure is important to look at. Mr. Higgins a final thought on. This before the United States the d and occupied iraq, u. S. Economy suzz nine times the size of china. Today by many measures the economy of china has caught up with the United States. An we have wasted certainly predating this administration but we have wasted trillions of dollars in wars that, you know, iraq iran owns iraq today. Were doing a peace deal with the taliban we took out because its a terrorist organization. Youll never have peace in afghanistan so long as the taliban is not, you know, giving up its commitment to the physical force tradition. But what china did during that period, our growth over that 20year period was about 2. 5 . Chinas growth is about 7 to 8 annually. Thats why theyre catching up with us, obviously. China, they cheat, they dont care about their workers or their environment, but what they have done, investing in infrastructure, into asia, into europe, into africa, is theyve invested in the growth of their own economy. And thats why its growing. I would just hope that you and the president and the ways and Means Committee can find a way to Work Together toward the goal of making a major investment in infrastructure, understanding that good Economic Growth would come with it as well. I yield back. Secretary mnuchin i would say china is not catching up to us. Our g. D. P. Per person is multiples, six times, theirs. Absolute g. D. P. Is significantly higher. Mr. Higgins im just talking about the size of the economy. Thank you, sir. Let me recognize the gentlelady from alabama, ms. Sewell, to inquire. Ms. Sewell thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, welcome. One of the Top Priorities in congress for me has been expanding Economic Opportunity for the folks back home in my district. The Median Household Income in my district is just above 37,000. Weve had persistent poverty areas for more than several decades now. These challenges demand a comprehensive approach to economic organization, and we need to use every tool in our tool kit to help bring about better resources and more tuns for the persistent poverty areas. This includes leveraging the tax code to incentive sizize the types of investments in communities. Weve seen the success of things like the new market tax credit. The success of that program. We recently increased allocation 1. 5 billion, but weve seen overall in alabama a 1347b9 billion Success Story over the time weve had new market tax credits. However im concerned that the allocations the president s budget request for this program and other important funding are too low. I encourage the Treasury Department to work with congress to appropriately fund these very Important CommunityDevelopment Investment tools. Like my colleague, ron kind, i too am encouraged by Opportunity Zones and want to see their success especially since its meant for to be successful in communities that have had, you know, consistently been underrepresented. I am concerned, however, about the lack of appropriate reporting requirements. Too often we see, especially in the news, Opportunity Zones seem to be going to highend real estate areas. I can tell you that in a rural part of my district, my hometown of selma, alabama, theres an Opportunity Zone helping to renovate an old hotel, the st. James hotel. What im concerned about and my constituents are concerned about is in renovating it and making it, that downtown area revitalized, we dont gentrify it and push folks out of the area. So i think it is really important as representative kind said that we have appropriate reporting requirements that really get at the social Economic Impact of Opportunity Zones. Soifs encouraged by your response to him. Im on that bill that ron and congressman kelly and i, all of us, are very much encouraged by this. I know that senator scott has the same bill on the other side. In the meantime i think its important that treasury hone up its reporting requirements and transparency with respect to Opportunity Zones. If its going to be a tool in the tool kit i want to see it be successful but i want to make sure we have the appropriate matrix. It sounds like we have your commit thament we can work on that. Secretary mnuchin we can work on that. Ms. Sewell likewise i think that working on infrastructure, which we kind of touched on before, one of the tools in the tool kit, i was a former bond lawyer. One of the things i saw in 2017 ax cut was that advanced fundings have been have gone away. That was a major source of allowing medium sized and smaller communities be able to take the benefits of the economy and be able to refinance some of these bonds holdings. I want to reiterate to you that there are other tools in the tool kit we can work on that would really help rural and mediumsized communities get back on their feet. I would love to have your commitment as we work on these bonds and other ways to finance infrastructure if we could look for advance refundings. Secretary mnuchin i look forward to working with you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank secretary mnuchin for joining us. Members have two weeks to submit questions in writing. Those questions and the answers will be made part of the formal record. With that, the ways and Means Committee stands adjourned. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] its a grand opportunity to talk about infrom structure and make it the serious discussion the country needs and demands. That will be implemented quickly with joe biden, long lasting stimulus that will go on for decades. I think that the tax krks not keep cutting the payroll tax, its got to be paced on based on a plan the plan we offer here today. Income that tweet on ax credit. The secretary is well aware. Theyd like to see that. Calling on democrats were always going to engage. What we need is certainty now on infrastructure. This is a chance. If you want a longterm successful stimulus package what better way to do it than with infa structure. Infrastructure. Is there do you and the secretary see progress on a Funding Source for infrastructure . We have parameters, now we eed to figure out the sources. The president volunteered 2 trillion. Do you expect treasury putting forth some kind of proposal any time soon . The problem with stimulus, its got to be something thats more sophisticated than a tweet. How are you . Cspan. Your unfiltered view of government. Created by cable in 1979 and brought to you today by your television provider. The house is back at noon eastern today and will debate a number of Foreign Affairs bills. Votes coming up late they are afternoon. This week we expect the thousands work on a bill providing money for the federal response to coronavirus. Follow live house coverage here on crnspambings. Here on cspan. Watch our Live Campaign 2020 super tuesday coverage of the president ial primaries and caucuses from 14 states including alabama, arkansas, california, colorado, maine, massachusetts, minnesota, north carolina, oklahoma, tennessee, texas, utah, vermont, and virginia, with candidate speeches and results. Coverage begins today, live at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. And cspan. Org. Or listen from wherever you are with the free cspan radio app. E