[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          U.S. MONETARY POLICY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, the House will be adjourning shortly until 
February 6. Mark Twain would have greeted that news with great joy and 
said that during that period of time the Republic was safe.
  The fact of the matter is the Republic is going to be in greater 
danger during that period. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, 
Alexander Hamilton, found, the one thing that was important for him to 
do as the Secretary of the Treasury was to assure the credit of the 
United States. This was something which had not existed prior to that 
time. In consequence, the currency, the full faith and credit of the 
United States, and, indeed, the economic promises and commitments of 
this country, meant very little.
  Alexander Hamilton set in place a tradition and a history and a 
culture which during those years since his tenure have been manifested 
by two things: First, that the United States paid its debts when due; 
and, second, that the United States' credit was regarded as the best in 
the world.
  Today as we sit here, credit rating agencies are reviewing the credit 
of the United States to see whether in fact the credit of the United 
States should continue to be AAA or whether in fact it should be 
reduced to some lower number.
  During the time that we have been discussing the budget, we have been 
talking to our Republican colleagues about that matter, they have been 
stressing that there were two purposes that they were going to carry 
out to assure that the President agreed to their stand with regard to a 
balanced budget.
  The first was to bring a Government shutdown. That has happened not 
once, but twice. The American taxpayers, American business, American 
industry, American citizens, have undergone substantial hardship. Our 
foreign trade has been impaired. The programs upon which business, 
industry, ordinary citizens are dependent, have all been hurt. Checks 
by the Government to its contractors have been delayed and withheld. 
Losses of employment amongst Government contractors have occurred.
  Federal employees have been laid off. Federal employees have been 
paid for not working.

                              {time}  1300

  That need not have been done. Indeed, with wise fiscal management, no 
party in control of a legislative branch of government would permit a 
situation of that kind to obtain.
  We have seen the consequences of that: new trucking unable to be 
certified, businesses unable to send delegations abroad to promote sale 
of U.S. commodities and goods and services, Americans incapable of 
bringing in foreigners to see things like the automobile show; our 
monuments to the success of that unfortunate policy.
  We are now looking at February 29. What will happen on February 29? 
On February 29, the United States will go into default on its 
obligations. At that time, the credit of the United States will be 
reduced in the eyes of all on that sole event. It need not happen.
  Never before in my memory in this body, or indeed in the history of 
the United States since Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of 
Treasury, has that sort of event occurred.
  We are going to adjourn here shortly then until February 29. We will 
probably do so without having addressed the question of the debt 
ceiling. Let us look a little bit at what happens to this country if a 
default occurs.
  My Republican colleagues are feeling very, very macho about this 
matter, because they are now able to say they have a tool which they 
can use which will force the President to do their bidding. Well, the 
President has not been forced to do their bidding by the shutdown of 
the Government. Indeed, the only persons who have been hurt have been 
the United States and the people of the United States.
  The President has done his best to see to it that the country is run 
during those periods of time. But we have wasted billions in paying 
salaries to people who did not work. We are now paying people who are 
not able to work effectively because their agencies are not fully 
funded, even though we are paying them. But let us look ahead to see 
what will occur.

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