Sep 19, 2006- MORE TROUBLE FOR AMERICA'S WORKING FAMILIES
HON. MARCY KAPTURÂ
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
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Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, the latest trade report out of Washington spellsmore trouble for working families; most immediately for Ohio, Michigan andIndiana, and our Nation's heartland, but, in fact, for our entire Nation.
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported this week that America's tradedeficit in the second quarter of this year hit its second highest level inhistory, rising 2.4 percent to $218.4 billion more imports into our Nation thanexports out. That is just in one quarter.
We are well on our way to another record trade deficit likely to exceed $800billion. At this rate, the UnitedStates might well post its firsttrillion-dollar trade deficit this year.
That level of trade deficit throttles real growth in our country andcontinues the unfortunate path of selling out America. We are not winning theglobal trade war, we are losing it badly. President Bush's trade policy is nomore successful than his foreign policy. Since President Bush took office, wehave lost 3 million more good jobs. America's trade deficit in motorvehicles alone has climbed by approximately 20 percent, and the recentannouncement by Ford Motor Company of production cutbacks and plant closingswill only exacerbate the situation.
Still, the administration clings to the same failed policies. The Presidentwill not even meet with the executives of the Big Three. I never thought Iwould see a day that the President of the UnitedStates refused to meet with the leaders of America'sautomakers. No industrial nation can afford to cash out its domestic automotiveindustry. One of five jobs here in our country are directly tied to it. But itis true. Apparently that is what this President thinks of the industry that hasbeen the backbone of our economy.
Back in 1975, New York Citywas in dire fiscal straits, and Gerald Ford refused to help. The New York DailyNews ran a famous headline: ``Ford to City: Drop Dead.'' Maybe it is just amatter of time before we see a similar headline about George W. Bush and hislack of concern about the U.S.automotive industry.
The same Commerce Department report showed other statistics which showed thedeterioration in our Nation's financial picture. Foreign-owned assets in the United Statesincreased by $366 billion more during the second quarter. U.S. liabilities to foreigners reported to U.S. banksincreased by $84.2 billion more in the second quarter following an increase of$148.9 billion in the first quarter.
Who owns the assets of our Nation? Increasingly, foreign interests own ourassets, and we owe them money. No wonder people think our country is headed inthe wrong direction. It is.
Increasingly, Americans don't own America. Transactions in U.S.Treasury securities shifted to net foreign purchases of $10.1 billion in thesecond quarter, almost double the rate in the first quarter. I don't like thefact that foreign interests are buying our country. Indeed, I detest what ishappening as un-American and unpatriotic. But foreign official assets in the United Statesincreased $74.9 billion in the second quarter following an increase of $75.7billion in the first quarter. It came as no surprise as a result that ourdollar depreciated an additional 3 percent.
What the trade deficit means in real-life terms is that money, usually U.S.currency, is leaving American hands and ending up in the hands of foreigncompetitors, from the United States to Saudi Arabia and other major oilproducers; from the United States to China, now the second largest holder ofU.S. dollar assets; from the United States to Japan, Korea and other majorautomobile and truck makers who keep their markets closed. So we are left withpadlocked factories, a shrinking middle class, diminishing tax bases and allthe problems that accompany a shortage of good jobs.
What a shame. What a shame that Washingtonis so out of touch with the real America. People are rapidly losinghope and trust. They believe their government has been captured by specialinterests and no longer cares about them, and they are right.
When they see these statistics about what is happening to our country, it isno wonder people are beginning to despair. So our people vote less, they becomemore cynical, and they conclude their government no longer stands up for themor indeed belongs to them. That, my friends, is a recipe for a rising politicalradicalism across our Nation. I cannot predict when it will happen, but it willhappen.