[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 145 (Friday, October 24, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2078-E2079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            FOREIGN SPENDING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 23, 1997

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address 
the topic of foreign spending. While it is to our benefit to assist 
less fortunate countries, it is also important to ensure that taxpayer 
resources are well spent. I would like to share one opinion as written 
by Mr. Cory Flohr from Colorado.

       ``America must change the way it does business with regard 
     to foreign assistance spending. For too long, our government 
     has taken billions of dollars out of the pockets of the 
     hardworking taxpayers of this country, only to squander it in 
     far-off lands in an attempt to settle our national 
     conscience. At best, the recipients have benefitted very 
     little from our handouts. At worst, these people, who truly 
     are in need of real assistance, have been left in a worse 
     predicament than that in which they were found.
       ``As a nation of immigrants, America has a distinct 
     interest in, and direct responsibility to, the world outside 
     of our borders. Not only do our ancestral ties often bind us 
     emotionally to the well-being of our familial homelands, but 
     our nation's economic, political, and military interests rely 
     directly on the prosperity, stability, and security of the 
     rest of the world. Furthermore, Americans are simply, and 
     arguably, the most generous, compassionate, and ``charitable 
     people on Earth. It is just our nature to assist those in 
     need.
       ``For these reasons, it is not surprising that the issue of 
     foreign assistance can evoke strong feelings from a large 
     portion of our population. Unfortunately, our prosperous 
     nation learned long ago that we can quickly engage, if not 
     solve, the world's problems by throwing money in the general 
     direction of the source. The problem is that very few 
     substantial and complicated problems can be effectively 
     solved with cash alone. This is especially true of the 
     afflictions most developing countries face which are driven 
     by flawed national policies and which cannot be cured until 
     meaningful policy changes are enacted from within.
       ``The unfortunate fact is, that although our country has 
     dumped hundreds of billions of dollars overseas, the great 
     majority of the recipient countries are no better off today, 
     and in many cases worse off, than they were before. For 
     example, of the 64 countries that have received U.S. foreign 
     aid for 35 years or more, 41 have economies that have 
     remained virtually the same or have deteriorated over the 
     past three decades. Of those 41 countries, 21 of them are 
     poorer today than they were thirty years ago.
       ``Now many people argue that while the economies of 
     recipient countries may not have improved, their plight can 
     be blamed on factors beyond their control--natural disasters, 
     lack of natural resources, civil unrest, or colonial 
     exploitation. These explanations would be enlightening if not 
     for very significant contradictory examples from the past. 
     Many of the world's richest countries, Japan for one, have 
     virtually no natural resources. America, a former British 
     colony, was torn apart by a devastating Civil War in the 
     1800's, yet managed to ``generate massive economic growth 
     both during, and after the war.
       ``The one thing, however, that all economic powerhouses 
     have in common, and that all poor countries lack, is a policy 
     of economic freedom. This concept is characterized by the 
     ability of individuals to pursue their own economic desires 
     with minimal governmental intervention and control, low 
     barriers to trade, lowered taxes, limited regulatory burdens, 
     high foreign investment, freedom of private property 
     ownership, and access to competitive banking.
       ``No amount of government-to-government charity will ever 
     create wealth, nor can it counteract the detrimental effects 
     of repressive economic policies that do nothing but stifle 
     productive output and discourage the creation of wealth. This 
     is why, rather than continuing to send our bundles of cash 
     overseas year after year, we should instead demand, 
     demonstrate, and encourage those countries to begin 
     implementing long-lasting, and self-sustaining economic 
     reform. Unless, of course, our true goal is to play the role 
     of global welfare provider, keeping recipient countries in a 
     subservient role and dependent upon America's handouts.
       ``Many try to justify America's high level of foreign 
     spending by arguing that, compared to the mammoth size of our 
     overall federal budget, the expense is negligible. No amount 
     of money taken out of the American taxpayer's pocket should 
     ever be considered negligible, particularly when we are 
     talking about $12 to $13 billion per year. There are simply 
     too many hardworking families living paycheck to paycheck in 
     this country for

[[Page E2079]]

     that argument to work. No, instead of blindly throwing money 
     at the world's problems, hoping they will disappear long 
     ``enough to ease our conscience, it's time to pull in the 
     reins, make some tough decisions, and provide some real 
     foreign assistance.''

  Mr. Speaker, we can all learn a valuable lesson here. Our government 
has an opportunity to optimally utilize our resources in a responsible 
and beneficial fashion so as not to waste resources but to accomplish 
the most good for the global community.

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