Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before House committee on the U.S. economy — 2/4/26

Summary

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the FSOC's 2025 annual report. The hearing covered regulatory tailoring for community banks, deposit insurance reform, digital assets and stablecoin implementation, Treasury market functioning, housing affordability, tariffs, AI risks, critical supply chains, and sanctions. Bessent argued that pro-growth deregulation and economic security support financial stability, while Democrats challenged him on consumer protection, tariffs, Fed independence, and crypto conflicts.

• Bessent presented FSOC priorities: Treasury market resilience, cybersecurity, regulatory modernization, and AI.
• Committee members debated community bank regulation, deposit insurance, and housing finance.
• Digital assets and stablecoin implementation under the GENIUS Act drew bipartisan interest.
• Bessent defended tariffs as non-inflationary and credited them with manufacturing reshoring.
• Democrats raised concerns over AI bubble risk, consumer protection, and Fed independence.
• Bessent highlighted critical minerals, semiconductors, medicines, and steel as national-security supply chains.
• The hearing included clashes over fraud, sanctions, remittances, and GSE conservatorship.