[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H6075-H6076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       ACTION MUST BE TAKEN TO STOP WORLD ECONOMIC CONFLAGRATION

  (Mr. LaFALCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaFALCE. Alison, happy birthday.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a very, very fragile global economy today, and, 
in a good many areas, Asia, Russia, et cetera, it is burning. 
Unfortunately, this burning flame is spreading, and while the world 
economy burns, unfortunately, the House Republican leadership is 
fiddling. They are fiddling with the replenishment of monies for the 
only financial mechanism that exists to deal with international 
economic problems, the International Monetary Fund.
  There was supposed to be a markup in the full House Committee on 
Appropriations today. It was called off. We

[[Page H6076]]

have delayed this for well over a year now. It is unconscionable.
  Japan has been in the economic doldrums for about half a decade. If 
the yen gets above 150 or so, the situation will get extremely worse. 
China could devalue. We could face a conflagration around the world.
  The House Republican leadership must stop fiddling around.

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