[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1140
                 RAISING INTEREST RATES MAKES NO SENSE

  (Mr. BROWN of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President, with support 
of Republican leadership, proposed committing $20 billion to Mexico to 
prop up the peso. Today the Federal Reserve, behind closed doors, will 
decide whether or not to raise interest rates yet again.
  Mr. Greenspan has lobbied Congress relentlessly in recent days on 
behalf of the Mexican bailout. But by raising interest rates again, Mr. 
Greenspan will contribute to a further weakening of the Mexican peso. 
By raising interest rates again, more importantly, Mr. Greenspan will 
make it harder for American families to pay for houses, to pay for 
cars, to pay for student loans. And by raising interest rates again Mr. 
Greenspan threatens to choke off the recovery. Higher rates will also 
make it harder to pay off the $20 billion the President and Republican 
leadership wants to send to Mexico.
  Excuse me, Mr. Speaker, raising interest rates simply makes no sense.
  

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