[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H3546-H3547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FOREIGN-HELD DEBT

  (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Last week we learned that Uncle Sam ran up 
the largest deficit for April ever. Equally alarming is that our 
deficit is being financed by countries such as China, our biggest 
holder of U.S. Government debt. Equally important, a former Chinese 
military official recently suggested the Chinese should consider 
dumping U.S. treasuries in response to the recent Pentagon decision to 
sell defensive weapon systems to Taiwan.
  To raise awareness of the threat to our economy and national security 
of our exploding deficit and debt, yesterday I introduced the Foreign-
Held Debt Transparency and Threat Assessment Act. This bill would 
require a better

[[Page H3547]]

accounting of debt held by foreign countries and, more importantly, 
require the President to submit a plan to cut spending should either a 
particular foreign creditor or the overall debt pose a risk to the 
national security interests of America. We must not let any other 
country hold our national and economic interests hostage.

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