Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia Slams Trump Tariff Chaos in House Financial Services Hearing: "The People Paying Are Our Constituents"

WASHINGTON, DC –  During today's House Financial Services Committee hearing on the state of the international financial system, Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29) called out the Trump administration's failure to address poverty and its reckless tariff agenda that's threatening the U.S. and Houston economy. The hearing focused on the impact of tariffs, market instability, and deteriorating global economic relationships under Trump's leadership. 

In a pointed exchange with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Congresswoman Garcia called out the administration's one-sided focus on tax cuts for the wealthy. 

"It just strikes me that most of your testimony is about tax cuts and cutting costs. It's always about tax cuts and it's always about the rich. But nothing is ever said about the poor," said Congresswoman Garcia. "As Secretary of Treasury, it's not just about the inflation rate, it's not just about the GDP, it's also about making sure that we keep the poverty rate in this country low. There are people who are living in poverty who have never lived in poverty before."

Congresswoman Garcia also laid out the real-world consequences of Trump's trade policies in her district.

"I'm from Houston. I'm concerned about the tariffs on energy. We have done a lot to increase trade in Houston, construction, everything after the pandemic, and everything was growing," added Congresswoman Garcia. "But now that the Trump tariffs have surfaced, it is threatening Houston's economy. The petrochemical companies, the port—everybody is trying to figure out what the hell we’re going to do.”

Though time limitations prevented Garcia from delivering her full set of questions, she submitted additional remarks for the record pressing Secretary Bessent on rising fuel and construction costs, job losses, and the administration’s failure to coordinate with key trading partners.

"Don't you see the problem here? The people paying are our constituents. Doesn't matter who they voted for. Doesn't matter if they live in red or blue districts, although I'll add that the red districts are projected to bear the brunt of the impact," said Congresswoman Garcia. "They will pay for these misguided tariffs, whether it is on Amazon, at the grocery stores, at the gas stations, or with their jobs. I hope you realize this soon and work with House Democrats to make sure that the U.S. economy isn't in a recession by your next visit." 

Watch Congresswoman Garcia's remarks HERE.