On Tuesday, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) questioned Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on sanction policy during a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00The gentleman's time has expired.
00:01Just a reminder, the Secretary does have a hard stop at 1 o'clock today, so we're going
00:04to try and squeeze in as many as we can here.
00:06Right now, the next one up is Mr. Barr, who's recognized, a gentleman from Kentucky, for
00:10five minutes.
00:11Thank you, Madam Secretary.
00:12I want to drill down into the Treasury Department's ineffective sanction strategy when it comes
00:19to Russia.
00:20A June 26 Wall Street Journal article highlighted a collision of foreign and energy policies
00:26within the Biden administration and frustration among Treasury staffers over the lack of action
00:32against oil trading networks that ferry Russian and Iranian oil.
00:36While Treasury sanctions, on the one hand, are attempts to, quote, throw sand in the
00:41gears of Russia and Iran's oil export machines, unquote, the article identifies attempts by
00:47the National Economic Council, led by Lael Brainard, to keep global oil output up to
00:52ward off pressures on inflation and, quote, keep gas prices stable ahead of the election
00:59by encouraging oil to flow into global markets, unquote.
01:03Secretary Yellen, who is running the show in the administration?
01:07Those who want to be tough on our adversaries like Russia and Iran, or those who want to
01:11ensure that global oil flows keep gas prices stable ahead of the election?
01:17It's a very good question.
01:19I think the article is, frankly, very misleading because the NEC and Treasury are really on
01:29the same page.
01:31We've been working together closely and we really have identical goals.
01:37So the same page in terms of trying to defend this failed oil price cap scheme?
01:45I'm sorry.
01:46I don't think it's a fail.
01:47Well, let me reclaim my time.
01:49Bloomberg reported last week that Russia's government revenues from oil sales rose almost
01:5550% compared to last year.
01:59If this is not an indictment of Treasury's licensing policy and the failure of the oil
02:06price cap scheme, I don't know what is.
02:07Well, it worked very well in the first year.
02:11Not anymore.
02:12Not anymore, Madam Secretary.
02:16Let me reclaim my time.
02:17Let me reclaim my time.
02:18I offered an amendment to the financial services appropriations bill.
02:23I got 30 Democrats to vote to sanction Russian oil exports, 30 Democrats, mostly climate
02:29oriented Democrats.
02:32This administration, which has this massive climate focus, wants to punish American energy
02:38production.
02:39That's the whole strategy through ESG and climate disclosure and no permitting, no licenses,
02:46no Keystone pipeline.
02:47But when it comes to Putin's oil machine, license it, allow exports of Russian energy.
02:55What on earth are you all doing?
02:58We've said explicitly from the very outset, we've had two goals with the price cap program.
03:05Number one, deprive Russia of revenue.
03:09Number two, make sure the global oil market is well supplied to neither Americans nor
03:16people in other states.
03:17You failed in both.
03:18You failed in both.
03:19Madam Secretary, you failed in both because you are waging a war against American energy,
03:22but you're green lighting Russian energy.
03:24You're weak on Russia.
03:26I want this administration to revisit the failed oil price scheme and sanction the crap
03:32out of Vladimir Putin's energy, which is financing the war effort.
03:37And the oil price cap is not working.
03:40Let me shift to China.
03:41Let me shift to China.
03:43Treasury has prohibited US dealings with the publicly traded securities of certain companies
03:48connected to China's military industrial complex.
03:51But since being put on CMIC list, Hikvision revenues have risen 30%, Sinochem's revenues
03:57up 60%, China mobile stock prices shot up 90%, Huawei, SMIC went on to develop advanced
04:035G chip, and Huawei isn't public to begin with.
04:07Clearly regulating the trading of publicly traded securities has proven irrelevant.
04:11Why doesn't Treasury impose blocking sanctions on these CMIC companies?
04:17Well, I can't discuss particular cases, certainly not in this venue.
04:26You're always looking at entities that are engaging in activity that could merit sanctions.
04:34Madam Secretary, would Treasury welcome an opportunity by legislation, my bill, on China
04:39outbound?
04:40You all have issued an executive order.
04:42I think it's Congress's responsibility to create an outbound investment framework.
04:48Would Treasury welcome an opportunity through legislation to explain on an annual basis
04:53why it has refrained from imposing full blocking sanctions on Chinese entities on the CMIC
05:00list?
05:01And it could be perhaps an escape.
05:04Well, we can discuss it with you and I'll have my staff be in touch with yours to understand.
05:11We've got a list of Chinese military industrial complex companies, but Treasury hasn't sanctioned
05:17any of them.
05:19That's a real good question for Treasury to answer to the American people through their
05:23elected representatives in Congress, and with that I yield.