[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 16 (Thursday, January 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          THE MEXICAN BAILOUT

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                             HON. BOB BARR

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 25, 1995
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, why are the American people being asked to 
bail out the Mexican economy to the tune of $40 billion?
  Despite listening for 2 hours to administration officials this 
morning at the Banking Committee hearing, I still fail to understand 
why we should be expected to put the full faith and credit of the 
United States on the line for a country that has a long and painful 
past of undisciplined financial mismanagement.
  I cannot support some hastily slapped-together financial deal, 
especially in the absence of the President providing a coherent policy. 
The President has an obligation to formulate a viable program that will 
guarantee Mexico's inflationary policies won't put Main Street America 
another $40 billion in the hole. Last night all he said was--we need to 
bail out Mexico. On top of all his rhetoric last night, the President 
spoke to the importance of the Nation pulling together and making 
sacrifices for the greater good. I think it is unconscionable to ask 
262 million Americans to bail out Mexico's ruling elite.
  Many Latin American countries, and not just Mexico, have dismal track 
records when it comes to paying back loans, whether they are from 
private, international or governmental sources. It is no secret that 
Mexico has a statist economy, that has tenaciously clung to that legacy 
since independence. The bottom line is that statist economies do not 
work. They are financially unstable and unreliable.
  This bailout idea looks more and more to me like the first of what 
may be many more payments on a bad NAFTA deal.


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