[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 44 (Wednesday, April 20, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          THE FEDERAL RESERVE

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, our economy is slowly improving 
and as much as we would like to take credit for our new growth, we must 
also recognize that all segments of our economy are not growing as 
quickly as they should be.
  In fact, a number of companies are eliminating jobs. For instance, 
General Motors has plans to eliminate 69,000 jobs, Sears will eliminate 
50,000, IBM--38,500, and AT&T--over 33,000. This is hardly an economic 
boom yet the Federal Reserve has decided to raise interest rates three 
times this year.
  We have made a great deal of progress toward improving our economy 
and the low interest rates we have experienced have fueled much of this 
recovery. Clamping down on the money supply only makes sense to curb 
inflation yet the Fed points to no real evidence of inflation when it 
raises rates. Rather they argue that they are mitigating against future 
inflation by raising rates now rather than when inflation is apparent. 
This equates to no more than firing shots in the dark.
  Let us look at who is hurt by a sharp rise in interest rates. The 
first time home buyer who may have been prepared to close a deal on 
their new home this week may have seen their payments raised and the 
small business who may have been looking for a loan to expand has now 
found the banks unresponsive and the rates rising out of reach.
  Our economy is growing but it is far from overheating. The recent 
actions by the Federal Reserve have sent a message of restraint to an 
economy in need of expansion. We know that the only way to truly 
eliminate our national debt is to grow out of it and a lot more growth 
in our economy is needed.
  I urge the Federal Reserve to stop chasing shadows and wait for real 
signs of inflation before taking any further action to raise interest 
rates.

                          ____________________