[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 36 (Thursday, March 26, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1558-H1559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MEXICO'S PLAN TO REDUCE THEIR OIL PRODUCTION

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express strong outrage 
concerning recent reports about Mexico's plans to reduce the production 
of crude oil, which will result in higher gasoline prices at the pump.
  Mr. Speaker, it was not too long ago, the same Mexican government 
officials who today seek to increase the price of crude oil came to the 
United States

[[Page H1559]]

seeking financial assistance and aid. This special assistance was over 
and above what we have already given to the Mexican government in 
development aid and to support counternarcotics efforts. This body 
debated and ultimately approved a $20 billion bailout package to prop 
up the peso and save the Mexican economy from collapsing. Without this 
money, the Mexican economy would have surely fallen and today Mexico is 
on the road to recovery.
  Now, just over 3 years later, how does Mexico repay us for our role 
in pulling them back from the brink of economic disaster? They repay us 
by attempting to drive up the price of crude oil. This is wrong and we 
need to stop it now.

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