[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA: LEARN FROM GREECE INSOLVENCY DAMAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, nonpartisan Congressional Budget 
Office data reveals that America's financial condition has taken a 
sharp, ugly turn for the worse. America's estimated 2016 deficit is 
$105 billion worse than 2015's already dangerous $439 billion deficit.
  America's debt has blown through the $19 trillion mark and is 
projected to blow through the $29 trillion mark in a decade.
  America's Comptroller General and CBO warn that America's financial 
path is ``unsustainable,'' meaning America faces a debilitating 
insolvency unless we get our financial house in order.
  Mr. Speaker, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat 
it.
  In that vein, America must learn from Greece, a country betrayed by 
decades of financially irresponsible leadership. In the past 5 years, 
Greece has repeatedly failed to meet its debt obligations and subsisted 
on three bailouts from the European Union.
  The result?
  The Greek economy is in a shambles. Greece has a 52 percent labor 
participation rate, 10 points worse than here in America. Greece's 
unemployment rate was recently 25 percent, approximating America's 
worse unemployment rate in the Great Depression. Worse yet, Greeks 
under the age of 25 suffer from a 48 percent unemployment rate.
  Financial irresponsibility ultimately forces draconian austerity 
spending cuts. Greece has cut public health care spending from 6.8 
percent of GDP in 2010 to roughly 5 percent today, thereby risking 
Greek lives. Cancer screening has been cut. HIV, tuberculosis, and 
malaria rates have surged as fewer Greeks receive proper treatment.
  The public pensions Greek elderly citizens rely on for survival have 
been cut an average of almost 50 percent since 2010 and are again on 
the chopping block.
  Greek tax rates are exploding. Income taxes on farmers have doubled 
from 13 percent to 26 percent. Self-employed professionals and farmers 
say proposed social security and income tax increases will combine to 
consume as much as 75 percent of their incomes.
  Greece's banking system is on the brink. In the summer of 2015, pre-
European bailout, the Greek Government froze citizens' bank accounts, 
limiting cash withdrawals from ATMs to $67 per day. Greeks could not 
even access their own money.
  Post-bailout and as Greeks began fearing their savings accounts would 
be confiscated to pay for government debt, as occurred in nearby 
Cyprus--yet another insolvent country--Greeks withdrew cash from banks.
  The run on banks caused the Greek Government to intervene and limit 
the right of Greek citizens to withdraw their own money, which caused 
citizens to cut deposits into Greek banks, which undermined the Greek 
banking system, which dried up the availability of loans for new 
business needed to create jobs in a rebounding economy.
  Violent demonstrations are resulting. For example, on February 4, 
2016, Athens, Greece, ABC News reported:
  ``Riot police have used tear gas in clashes with protesters during a 
mass rally in Athens as Greeks demonstrated against government pension 
reforms needed to meet demands of international creditors.''
  Mr. Speaker, there is an old adage that ignorance is bliss. I don't 
know about that, but I do know that ignorance is dangerous.
  In 2009, Greece spent 3.2 percent of GDP on its national defense. 
Five years later, Greek defense spending was cut to 2.3 percent of GDP, 
a 28 percent cut.
  Now, perhaps the world will not suffer from Greece's defense spending 
cuts, but what would be the effect on world peace if America's defense 
spending suffered a similar fate?
  Mr. Speaker, time is running out. Washington must balance the budget 
before America's debt burden spirals out of control before it is too 
late to prevent the debilitating insolvency and bankruptcy that awaits 
us.
  I pray the American people will be good stewards of our Republic in 
2016 and elect Washington officials who both understand the threat 
posed by deficits and debt and have the backbone to fix it. Quite 
frankly, Mr. Speaker, America's future depends on it.

                          ____________________