Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement at a National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions subcommittee hearing entitled, “ International Financial Institutions in an Era of Great Power Competition.”

Thank you, Chairman Luetkemeyer and Ranking Member Beatty.  

I thank you for holding this hearing on International Financial Institutions, the Great Power Competition, and how to best manage international programs to counter China’s global ambitions. It is shockingly hypocritical, then, that we sit here on the last day that the House was supposed to be in session for the month, just days before Republicans run America’s economy off the debt cliff. And why? At least one stated reason is so they can cut the programs and institutions like the World Bank and other institutions – I don’t know if the IMF is included in that. However, this discussion today, I hope will focus on not cutting anything in this government that has to do with us dealing with China and other concerns that we may have about how they’re undermining not only our economy but absolutely causing disaster in the world.

I yield back the balance of my time.