Last Friday, Rep. French Hill (AR-02) joined Jonathan Ferro on Bloomberg Surveillance where he discussed President Biden's new infrastructure deal, stress tests for banks, and the future of America's economy.
Rep. Hill on President Biden's new infrastructure package:
"I think the moderate Democrats and the Republicans in the Senate have been thrown under the transit bus by their proposed compromise, because immediately upon reaching a constructive, bipartisan agreement with the President, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said 'Well we won't support this at all until we raise taxes on working people and business, and pass our Green New Deal and other American family priorities through budget reconciliation'. So once again, I think President Joe Biden is a prisoner of the left-wing of the Democratic Party here in Washington.
The House Republicans have proposed a $400 billion surface transportation bill with a pilot program to have a vehicles taxed on miles, as opposed to the gas tax, which I think is a constructive approach. House Democrats are going to move a bill next week that's basically the Green New Deal priorities of about $570 billion. It's not dead on arrival, but I wouldn't say that it's being acclaimed on both sides of the aisle."
Rep. Hill on reconciliation in tandem with this bipartisan deal:
"We need targeted spending and we need to get back to spending priorities, instead of proposing to spend $6 trillion and increase the size of the federal government way up over 25% of our gross domestic economy. We need to not raise taxes on workers, and on businesses as we try to come out of the pandemic and get people back to work. It's really a subject of not only the amount of money, but the target and the priorities, and that remains to be seen what the Democrats will propose in the Senate and propose in the House."
Rep. Hill on supporting a package that does not raise taxes:
"I think you are going to try to have an infrastructure vote, but Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are not going to bring that infrastructure compromised approach to a vote until they get a vote on their reconciliation pact, which is a multi-trillion-dollar package with tax increases. That's what the Democrats in the House and the Senate are demanding of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. I think it is premature to say, well what does the final package look like."
Rep. Hill on if a two-route approach is the way to be going:
"No, I thought what Joe Manchin thought he was doing with Susan Collins and others was coming up with a way to get a bipartisan infrastructure package, with as much payfor from previously appropriated funding as possible, and get that passed in a clean way on a bipartisan basis in both houses of Congress. Clearly, yesterday, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer threw a wrench in that plan."
Rep. Hill on the grid as the national security issue:
"That has been an ongoing priority on a bipartisan basis in Congress, and we have two of the power sharing companies headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas in my district, Southwest Power Pool and MISO. In both instances, they have a reliability transfer authority for power across this country that includes a strong cyber protection and grid resiliency initiative. I have met with those companies and many utilities on it. The private sector works on this every single day, and where the government can make strategic investments, I think you'd find bipartisan support. As to the amount, that's not something I can comment on today because I have not studied their proposal."
Rep. Hill on systemic risk after the banks' stress test:
"I think the banks' financial strength through the pandemic has been one of the bright spots that gives us strength through the economy to know that we can get people back to work and have GDP growth between 6-8% this year. I think that flying colors pass of the stress test indicates our economy is open, and ready for business. I look forward to the results of that by more Americans getting back to a full-time job."
Rep. Hill on the value of a stress test when the Federal Reserve is set on the banks never facing stress again:
"I don't agree with zero interest rates that the Fed has proposed and I don't think they should continue at the rate of $120 billion a month. Those benefit the economy in the short run during the pandemic, but it's time with an 8% projected growth rate to move away from that. They have a primary obligation to regulate our banks and make sure they have the capital to operate a safe and sound environment. It's been a big change from the 2008-2009 crisis, and that's why you saw so many street firms convert to a commercial bank charter, so they could build the capital and resiliency necessary if there was an economic downturn."
Original source can be found here.
