[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S4358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       THE SOARING TRADE DEFICIT

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, the numbers are now in for the trade deficit 
for January, and they are not good. In fact, we set a new deficit 
record for a single month. The trade deficit surged over 68 percent, to 
a highest ever mark of $12.2 billion.
  Mr. President, I never have met two economists who agree on 
everything. Some say you should not pay too much attention to trade 
deficit numbers. But most economists will tell you that continuously 
rising deficits in merchandise and services trade, year upon year, are 
unsustainable. Last year's overall merchandise trade deficit reached a 
record high $166 billion. The figures just released for January of this 
year indicate that the growth is not slowing. The growth in our trade 
deficit is in fact accelerating. This is deeply troubling.
  Mr. President, the soaring trade deficit is not just a matter of the 
volume of imports from abroad. A ballooning trade deficit affects the 
strength of the dollar, interest rates, the stock and bond markets, and 
the long-term attractiveness of the U.S. as a destination for 
investment. In other words, it threatens the standard of living of 
every American.
  Despite the potential enormity of this problem, the administration 
has yet to focus on it as a real threat to working Americans. I am 
reminded that in the months and weeks leading up to the Mexico crisis, 
it seemed that no one in the administration was minding the store. We 
do not yet know the full extent of the fallout from that catastrophe. 
Mr. President, I hope we are not today headed down the same road with 
regard to our growing trade deficit. I hope those in the administration 
charged with watchfulness are not asleep a the witch.
  Mr. President, we must not place our economic stability at risk. We 
must not allow warning signs to go unheeded. No single month's figures 
are conclusive, but when the bad numbers pile up month after month, 
they must not be ignored.


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