The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs published remarks by Chairman Tim Scott ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s first appearance before the committee, outlining the issues Scott wants addressed at the hearing. The main focus was the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of price stability and employment, alongside the economic implications of artificial intelligence. Scott said the committee should examine how artificial intelligence and the buildout of data centers affect electricity and water costs, with an emphasis on ensuring those facilities bear their own costs rather than passing them on to consumers. He also linked artificial intelligence to U.S. competition with China and argued that, if deployed as augmentation rather than automation, it could lift productivity and wages without a significant drop in employment.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs2026-07-14
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs sets out hearing focus on Federal Reserve dual mandate and AI costs
Ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s first Senate Banking Committee appearance, Chairman Tim Scott outlined the issues he wants covered, centered on the Fed’s dual mandate and artificial intelligence. He called for scrutiny of whether data centers are paying for their electricity and water use and said AI should raise productivity and wages without materially reducing jobs.