[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 48 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H3783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 AVOID WAR THROUGH FINANCIAL EXCELLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Bustos). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Cawthorn) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CAWTHORN. Madam Speaker, when American projects weakness on the 
international stage, everyday Americans suffer. We know this. We are 
told this daily. But many everyday Americans feel that geopolitics is 
far removed from their lives.
  So, let's answer the question: What does it cost for America to be 
weak on the world stage?
  This cost is manifested at the pumps every day with 42 percent higher 
prices. It is shown as food prices soar. Meat, poultry, and eggs are 
all up over 10 percent.
  Our weakness abroad produces hardships at home. If we lose our role 
as the world reserve currency, your buying power, your savings, and 
your property value could all sink to historic lows.
  The preeminence of American currency has dominated the global 
landscape for decades, providing stability as the international bedrock 
of financial transactions and arrangements.
  We are the world's reserve currency. We are the standard. But that 
great financial heritage is slipping away. Our children may soon call 
the world reserve currency by another name. Perhaps they will know it 
as the yuan.
  The geopolitical ramifications of devalued and discarded American 
currency would not only signal a shift in financial confidence in the 
United States; it would dissolve our standing among global superpowers.
  We are witnessing the death rattle of Pax Americana, meaning the era 
of American peace we have enjoyed in the world for decades.
  America could lose a war with China without a single shot ever being 
fired if our dollar continues to be perpetually devalued.
  Permanent Washington decisionmakers, most of whom are over 30 to 50 
years my senior, have clearly either not taken the time to sit and 
consider the cost of or, worse, simply ignored how hyperinflation is 
rotting the superiority of our Nation's currency and dragging with it 
young families, blue-collar workers, and the great American middle 
class.
  American strength and leadership have been the driving force of peace 
for the last half century. Nations unified behind the stability of the 
U.S. dollar, in large part because we backed our greenbacks with gold--
substance, not fluff. We were the manufacturers of the world. The shift 
from a gold standard to a fiat currency began to starve America's 
financial preeminence. You cannot inflate gold, but you can print money 
out of thin air. When a currency is built on nothing but paper, it 
literally grows on trees. With this dramatic shift, America's leverage 
on the world stage began to slip away.

  There can be no globalism when America refuses to relinquish its 
position as the preeminent currency. Countries also think twice before 
incurring the wrath of the United States when their own financial 
stability is tied to the endurance of our monetary system.
  But, instead, our inflated, hollow monetary systems have given way to 
fantastical foreign policy. We have surrendered our financial security 
as the superpowers of the world wait eagerly in the wings. Our collapse 
signals their emergence.
  Saudi Arabia, which has exclusively sold its oil using U.S. dollars, 
is now considering selling oil for the Chinese yuan. The Chinese 
Communist Party has been posturing for years to topple the dollar with 
their tender.
  When the U.S. dollar falls, America will no longer remain dominant on 
the world stage, and peace will end. It is already happening. Vladimir 
Putin has illegally and immorally invaded Ukraine. The world is coming 
unraveled as our tender's resiliency plummets.
  But I am sure you are asking yourself at home: Does this have to 
happen? In short, the answer is no. We can reclaim the mantle of 
financial excellence we once held. We can become the leader of the 
world again without having to expend the lives of young Americans.
  Stooping to military interventionism is the goal of the war hawks 
here in Congress who are bought and paid for by those who stand to 
profit from forever wars.
  If we are wise and shrewd, we can avoid ever needing to put boots on 
the ground to ensure peace. We can do this by dominating the world's 
economy.
  To bring peace without bloodshed is actually quite simple. The key is 
to immediately reduce gas prices and energy prices by drilling the hell 
out of the Permian Basin and by granting every lease and incentivizing 
all necessary infrastructure atop the Bakken shale.
  Furthermore, we should aggressively onshore manufacturing back to 
America, dominate the world market on precious minerals, and stop 
shipping our jobs overseas.
  A strong American economy creates a strong U.S. currency. When 
America sits atop the world, peace will continue. Tyrants of the world, 
like Putin and Xi Jinping, will fear us when the only way to buy and 
sell energy is by using the U.S. dollar.
  It is our solemn responsibility to pass a peaceful and prosperous 
nation on to the next generation. We are the leaders of the world. It 
is time we start acting like it.
  Drill, baby, drill. America first now, and America first forever.

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