Feb 28, 2006- The State of Beggardom

HON. MARCY KAPTUR
 OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2006

Clickhere to view Rep. Kaptur's floor statement
watch video

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, let me ask the ``why'' question tonight. Whywould the United Statesallow itself to be reduced to a state of beggardom in the Dubai ports deal?

The definition of a beggar is a person, in this case a country, that livesby asking others for help or charity. So why would the United States allowitself, a nation that created Social Security, won World War II, landed a manon the moon, why would our Nation let itself be reduced to beggary and theNation, to beggardom?

Why would any level of our government seek foreign ownership or leasing ofany of America'skey assets, our ports, airports, railroads, turnpikes, industrial plants, evenendowments to Presidential libraries? Why would we do it, ever? But why wouldyou do it particularly when we are a nation at war?

The answer is simple. It appears our Nation cannot afford to stand on itsown two feet anymore. We beg foreign investment because we cannot pay our ownway. Our jobs and productive wealth and manufacturing and agriculture are beingshipped offshore every day. Our piggy bank is empty.

So our assets are being sold or leased to foreign interests. Our savings aredrained. Our national debt is skyrocketing. So our society is selling off,releasing our crown jewels.

I do not agree with this. I have been fighting it ever since our Nationstarted to sell more and more of our U.S. debt securities to foreigninterests, who now own half, half of the debt of this Nation, and we pay themover $300 billion a year in interest and it is skyrocketing.

Some people who get elected, even Presidents, do not think that there arecertain fundamentals in accounting that you must follow. They think that youcan avoid responsibility in borrow-and-spend abandon. They think you can avoidresponsibility. They mix up their love of money, frankly anybody's money, evenforeign interests' money, with freedom's discipline. They somehow think it willall work out.

Well, Americahas been pushed to the edge of its financial resources with over $7 trillion indebt, which is rising. The war in Iraq has cost billions too much. Wewere told we would be out of there in 6 months.

We are lectured by a President that we should become energy independent, yetduring his presidency he has made us more dependent on foreign sources of oil,so we borrow and spend to make up the difference. And we are paying more andmore for imported fuel and going deeper into debt with oil imports, now thelargest share of our trade gap.

Budget numbers do not lie. Trade statistics do not lie. Who do you think isfinancing America'sbeggardom? Foreign interests. The kind of folks who own Dubai Ports World.Trade deficits are exploding as we witness the import deluge into our country.Last year nearly a trillion dollars in trade debt, staggering, hard to findanything made here anymore.

So now we are in the fire sale phase. Rent out the ports, lease the IndianaTurnpike, sell off the auto industry, print the stationery in China. To liveso recklessly and to spend so wildly does exact a price. It forces America to bereduced from our birthright of independence and the discipline that thatentails to a sorry state of beggardom.

Curious developments happen too. Why did George Bush, Sr. accept amillion-dollar contribution to his Presidential library in Texasfrom the United ArabEmirates? Who was buying favor with whom andfor what?

What is so shocking is that the vast majority of Americans oppose beggardom,oppose the leasing of U.S.ports to any foreign interests, surely by those who could not preventinfiltration of their citizens to this country on 9/11.

Americans want to be independent. They love freedom, not beggardom. TheWorld Ports debacle is the latest evidence America'scorporate and political elites, sometimes the same people, are selling out America'sindependence, making deals with undemocratic kingdoms.

Seven sheiks run the UnitedArab Emirates. It is not a democraticcountry. Dubai World Ports is a government-owned enterprise. Why should itcompete with free enterprise in this country? That country does not recognize Israel, and itdoes not allow Christian crosses to be erected anywhere inside the borders ofthat nation. Who could believe that a nation that sent two terrorists into our Trade Towersand whose banks laundered money for 9/11 will now manage some of our majorports. Insanity.

Some people say our intelligence services failed us. I say our electedleaders have failed us, starting in the Oval Office. They fail us time andagain because they are blinded by their own beggary. They used to say you couldbuy people here in Washingtonfor a lunch. Wow, has the bar been raised.

America,awake. Patrick Henry's clarion had it right, give me liberty or give me death,no beggary, no beggardom, no sellout of our Republic.

END