[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6831-6832]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        A SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS?

  (Mr. KIRK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIRK. Too often, the Congress focuses on problems of the past, 
not

[[Page 6832]]

dangers to come. Last month, the Greek Government lost its AAA credit 
rating. On May 19, Greece will have to pay $10 billion in loans that it 
does not have the money to cover. The market will only lend now at a 24 
percent interest rate. Estimates are that an IMF Greek bailout will 
cost $100 billion.
  On Monday, Portugal lost its AAA rating, and this news triggered a 
sudden loss in our own stock market. Yesterday, Spain lost its credit 
rating, and the Spanish problem is five times the size of the Greek 
problem. Italy and Ireland may be next. We may soon face a sovereign 
debt crisis.
  CRS reports that the IMF has $268 billion to lend, an amount that 
could quickly be exceeded by a European debt crisis. The IMF may not 
have the resources to handle this crisis, and the Fed and the U.S. 
taxpayer may be called on to bail out these irresponsible governments. 
Few in Congress even know of this danger to our economy and to our 
family incomes.

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