May 23, 2006- Becoming America the Dependent

HON. MARCY KAPTUR
 OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, America,which should value our birthright of independence, is all too quickly becoming America thedependent.

We are dangerously dependent, for example, on foreign oil for our energyneeds. Indeed, we import nearly 75 percent of it; a third of our trade deficitis due to this oil dependency. We could become energy independent here at homewith energy sources here that we would invent and create and refine, and what ajob-rich Americathat would create.

Americais becoming more and more dependent upon imports from foreign manufacturersthan we are exports from our country in all fields: in appliances, in clothing,even food. This year Americamay become for the first time in its history a net food importer.

The balance of payments which had been the pride of our country, moreexports than imports, has been reduced to red ink. The monthly trade deficit forMarch was just in 1 month over $62 billion, and we are still on another recordannual trade deficit pace.

In fact, our monthly trade deficit figure is so huge it equals the entireannual budget of our Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans fought to make usfree from foreign tyranny, but the new tyranny is taking a different form.

At the end of March, our overall publicly held debt was a staggering $4.6trillion, not counting promises that the government has made to pay forretirement programs and health benefits that are due to the American people inthe amount of over $8.4 trillion. Now, would you believe that nearly half, 43percent of this debt, overall debt, of that amount, $2 trillion is now held byforeigners.

We have already heard that it took 200 years for our Nation to accumulate $1trillion of debt. But would you believe we are now at the point where $1trillion of our public debt is held by Japan,China and HongKong? As this chart illustrates, Japanis the largest holder of our debt, followed by Europe, followed by China and Hong Kong,which are rising very quickly.

In fact, would you believe that between October of 2003 and March of thisyear, Chinaalone more than doubled its holdings of our public debt from $151 billion to$321 billion. The UnitedStates government, our taxpayers this yearwill pay more than $200 billion in interest on publicly-held debt with nearly$100 billion going to foreign holders of our debt. That's right. We are goingto pay interest to foreign holders of U.S. debt, almost five times asmuch as we appropriate on an annual basis for the entire U.S. Department ofEnergy. Imagine if we invested those dollars in ourselves. We will pay interestto foreign holders of U.S.debt nearly three times as much as we spend in a year on the Department ofHousing and Urban Development to build this country from coast-to-coast.

We will pay interest to foreign holders of U.S. debt nearly twice as much aswe appropriate for the entire Department of Labor. We have just had more minerskilled in Kentucky,God rest their souls, because they didn't have oxygen equipment that would lastthem long enough that would outlast the monoxide until the rescue workers couldget there.

Yet we can pay this kind of money to foreign holders of our debt. We willpay about as much interest to foreign holders of U.S.debt as we will appropriate for fighting the war in Iraq. Wow. Think about it. What dowe do about it?

Without a doubt, first thing we should do is clean up our fiscal house, andthat starts with balancing our budgets and digging out of this red ink. Wecannot expect to continue in this fashion and remain the leader of the freeworld. Our currency is being devalued. We see the skittishness in the stockmarket, and interest rates are going up at the same time as gas prices aregoing up. This is very clear.

There are certain rules of economics that never fail you. We are eithergoing to have a currency devaluation, or we are going to have inflation go outof control. But the point is, more and more, we are going in hock toforeign interests. We need to ask, how do we take our country back? At aminimum, how do we owe the money to ourselves rather than other Nations? Inprior generations, when we were faced with a problem like this, we didn't turnto foreign bankers; we turned to the American people. We did it throughbalancing our budget, and we did it through savings bond sales. There used tobe a time when savings bonds could be purchased easily at any local bank oreven in smaller denominations at our U.S. Postal Service.

It was a way the average American, who is as patriotic as anybody in thisworld, could invest in their own country. They could buy bonds in very smalldenominations, and they knew their investment was secure and that they wereinvesting in America,not someplace else.

But in recent years, the Federal Reserve and our Treasury have gotten lazy.They are selling these denominations in big, big numbers, thousands of dollarsapiece, and they like to do it through just a few cushy dealers on Wall Street.They love dealing with the big bond houses to get fees for every bond theysell. It is a very undemocratic bond system.

In fact, the Federal Reserve loves to reward their friends on Wall Streetinstead of strengthening our Nation down to the average citizen and theirability to own a piece of the republic. I would like to restore that spirit ofindependence to our country, and this method, tried and true, of savings bondpurchases helped us through military wars and economic depressions.

Savings bonds can be called upon again, in a new war, to maintain America'seconomic independence and take it back from foreign investors who are owninglarger pieces of us every day. Independence,independence, independence. Reduce America's ownership by foreigninterests.

END