U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen faced pressure from Republicans over proposed increases to climate spending and her World Bank reform agenda, as she testified in Congress on Wednesday on the department’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Treasury Department’s international budget request seeks some $4 billion for multilateral institutions and funds — up from $2.3 billion approved for 2023.
“I can’t imagine how this extraordinary level of spending can be justified,” said Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, a Republican from Florida and chair of the appropriations subcommittee. Yellen, for her part, warned later in the hearing that climate change is an “existential threat.”