Remarks by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before the Petroleum Club of Houston

Good morning. Thank you to the Petroleum Club of Houston for welcoming me today.One of the great privileges of my role as Treasury Secretary is the chance to visit different parts of the country. Whenever I travel, one of my priorities is meeting with local community leaders like all of you. But I also value the chance to take measure of the economic conditions in which you operate. And there are few places where policy outcomes are more pronounced than in the two states I’ve visited in recent weeks.In California, I saw firsthand what years of failed governance looks like: a tax system that is hostile to ambition.