One of the most quotable members of the U.S. Senate struck again, as Louisiana Republican John Kennedy stumped Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen with a simple question about debt, then answered it for her – using her own past words.
During a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the Biden’s administration’s “Build Back Better” multi-trillion dollar spending scheme, which economists predict will require as much as $4.6 trillion in debt or new taxes, Kennedy asked Yellen to answer one question:
How much debt is too much?
And it turns out Kennedy had an answer – by quoting what Yellen said when Trump was in office.
The exchange follows.
Kennedy: “I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that, in my opinion, there is no fair-minded person in the Milky Way who believes the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better bill are not going to require the American people to incur substantial debt. And here’s my question, and I’m looking for a number: How much, in the Biden administration’s opinion, is too much debt? At what point, as you incur debt, will the Biden administration say, ‘Okay, that’s it. We can’t borrow any more, or it’s going to hurt the American people’?”
Yellen: “First of all, I want to say that I disagree with your assessment of Build Back Better. It is fully paid for or even more than fully paid for, and CBO just completed a comprehensive review of it, in which they found essentially the same thing. . . . we’re accustomed to looking at debt-to-GDP ratios. And using those kinds of metrics and looking around the world, many economists have found that debt-to-GDP ratios of 100 or more tend to be associated with significant problems.”
Kennedy: “Are we at 100 or more?”
Yellen: “We are, but we are in very different times. . . .”
Kennedy: “I’m going to run out of time. Let me ask you this, Madam Chair, quickly. You gave a great speech back in September of 2019. . . . This is what you said—I’m going to quote. I thought this was such a wise statement. You said the former Fed Chair said she is not worried about the debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio in the United States right now. But added, and I quote, ‘I’m worried about the trajectory of where it’s going. It’s not stable. We’re not living within our means right now. Debt is going to escalate, and that’s going to create problems down the road. . . .’ Now, that was when the debt was $17 trillion. It’s $29 trillion. You’re going to add trillions more through the Build Back Better. Why is that not true today?”
Yellen: “I want to repeat again, Build Back Better is fully paid for and will not add to the debt or to deficits. In fact, we plan to reduce it.”
Kennedy: “You and I just don’t agree on that.”
As it turns out, virtually no one agrees with Yellen.
“The Penn Wharton budget model estimates that the Build Back Better Act would increase government spending by $2.1 trillion and drive the U.S. deficit up by $274 billion,” Kennedy’s office notes. “The model also predicts that the bill’s spending spree would decrease the U.S. GDP in the long term and that the bill’s real cost would be closer to $4.6 trillion if its temporary programs become permanent.”
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Michael Brigham
Michael Brigham has written for American Action News since the summer of 2019. His areas of expertise include foreign affairs, government, and politics, but regardless of the subject matter, he has a nose and an insatiable appetite for news. In his free time, he enjoys reading nonfiction, watching a mix of comedies and true crime documentaries, and spending time away from the swamp hiking in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
These traitors never answer the question, they just give the Stalinist Party pre-approved statements that they’re allowed to give. Beyond the script they get in advance (Biden included), they can’t answer the most simple questions.
F J Bidet (Biden) is a CATHOLIC TRAITOR. Pelosi is a CATHOLIC TRAITOR. SCOTUS is now CATHOLIC.
Have you ever heard of a CATHOLIC “C” nation that has not overspent?
Have you ever heard of a CATHOLIC “C” nation that is not corrupt?\
Have you ever heard of a CATHOLIC “ C” nation that has honest elections?
Have you ever heard of a “C” nation that is successful?
Have you ever heard of a “C’’ nation where the populace is educated?
Have you ever heard of a “C” nation that does not need to ‘export’ the illiterate ILLEGAL ALIEN CATHOLIC “C” INVADERS?
Vote for ANY CATHOLIC “C” and you vote for a traitor.
Vote for ANY CATHOLIC “C” and the borders will never be secured.
Fukk you Alfie
That is not a intelligent reply to an accurate statement.
Yellen should’ve kept her trap shut . Nothing is never paid for or free . She’s another clown like senile Joe. His Build Back Better plan is not free if debt . The taxpayers will wind up with the bill . Democraps are total loons .
The Bolshevik Bamboozlers Bu–s–T plan is NOT JBs idea he has had an idea since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The BBB is eerily fed 2 JB thru Blinky/Klain/Rice & R manipulated by BHO. BHO is in turn manipulated by the CCP..
Commie puppets
Yellen is another old woman who has outlived her usefulness in government
When she is ‘allowed’ to retire with her Soros bribes, she will leave.
As always, the progressive socialist Democrats are urinating in your water and trying to convince you it lemonade. That’s why they need to be totally removed from office, not only in DC but in all 50 states in the union.
Good idea…..BUT I do believe one of our presidents…..that always tells the truth, yea) said there are….57 states, so we have to be sure these 7 other states also do the same to there states, or the job would not be complete.
The remaining 7 R Afghanistan/China/Cuba/Iran/ North Korea/Russia/Venezuela They will take a bit more effort since there is a language barrier.
Marxist shyt does not stink!
This woman ia as delusional as hidenbiden, living in another reality. If u spend almost 10 trillion, I mean print 10 trillion, and tell us all that it won’t cost a thing,your lying to us, and showing your dumbocrap ignorance, which is overwhelming in this administration. People totally not qualified for their jobs,and a lot of traitors, from the obuthead administration, making the same mistakes they did with him. just pathetic
Then don’t pass the BILL, what a novel idea!
Clueless and out of touch with reality.
biden, along with his whole administration, are a collection of inept liars and traitors.
They keep saying that it’s paid for but none of them can show us the money, trillions in debt but all of a sudden we have free money? How about we take that free money and pay down out debt?
Remember people, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH, I learned that in high school!
she wasn’t good the first time around, why did they get her back?