[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 40 (Thursday, April 14, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    CLARIFICATION OF EARLIER REMARKS

  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam President, earlier today in a statement which I 
made extemporaneously on the floor of the Senate, I made the following 
statement: ``Interest rates have gone down, although they are now 
starting to rise again as a consequence of recent actions taken by the 
Federal Reserve Board.'' I then went on to say, ``Economic growth is 
up. Indeed, economic growth was so rapid in the last quarter of last 
year that the Federal Reserve Board took action to increase interest 
rates to restrain the rate of growth so as not to ignite a new round of 
inflation.''
  Madam President, I am advised that while it is correct that interest 
rates went down following the passage of the budget last year, and it 
is correct that they have risen since then, that the current level of 
rates is slightly higher than they were at the time the budget was 
adopted. I want to make absolutely clear that I have not misspoken with 
respect to that. So I wanted to clarify my remarks and make clear that, 
following passage of the budget, interest rates went down, bottoming in 
the months following the passage of the budget last year, have since 
begun to rise again, and are now at a level that is slightly higher 
than they were at the time that the budget was adopted.
  My remarks are ambiguous as to that point and I wanted to make that 
clear so there can be no misunderstanding.

                          ____________________