Republicans: Deal with the Real Reasons Behind the Trade Deficit, Don't Bash the Chinese
Jim McDermott delivered the following speech on the floor of the House on July 27, 2005.
Madam Speaker, the Republicans have another installment in their blame game before us today. The trade deficit is rising higher and faster than the Space Shuttle because of policies blasted through the Congress by the Republicans. But they want to blame someone else.
They say it is the fault of the Chinese, failing to remember their massive cuts in education and job training programs. They fail to remember that our trade deficit occurred because foreigners are financing our budget deficit.
When the Republicans took control of the Congress over a decade ago, they came in as the party of free trade and free enterprise and balanced budgets. Well, now we have got companies and workers racing out of this country because of high energy and high health care costs. We have got employers leaving this country because they cannot find better skilled employees in this country than they can find elsewhere. And what do the Republicans do?
They blame the patients and the courts for higher health care costs. They blame environmentalists for the high price of crude oil, and they blame workers when their jobs are outsourced. They blame everyone but themselves for our problems and avoid doing anything that can improve the situation. And that is what this bill is today.
This bill does not really require the administration to do anything to level the playing field with China. Does this bill invest in the American workforce so they can better compete in the global economy? The answer is no.
Does this bill do something about the explosive energy prices that eat away at our competitiveness? No. Does this bill significantly invest in research and development so that the new services and products consumed around the world are created here at home by Americans? The answer is no.
And does this bill do anything to combat health care costs that are spiraling out of control and force companies to reconsider whether they want to incorporate here or in Canada? The answer is no. Does this bill do anything to improve the security of America's working people? The answer is no.
This is just a mechanism the Republicans would use to point their fingers elsewhere, to China. They will not even put this bill before the Ways and Means Committee for an honest discussion. That is because this bill is not about solving America's problems or supporting America's workers. It is to make the workers believe that they are supporting them.
This bill is about bashing the Chinese in order to divert attention from the fact that the next bill up is CAFTA. The Republicans have ignored making America competitive in the world economy. This is a sop. This bill is out here first for a sop, for those Members who are going to vote for CAFTA, but want something to balance it off when they go home.
I was strong against China, but I did shift some stuff down to Central America; but please do not hold that against me, because I was strong against China. This is a sop. There are no teeth in this. There are no teeth at all. This is simply China bashing. And that does not make us more competitive in the world, and it does not make us deal with our deficit.
We have to deal with the budget in this country if we are going to be serious about the Chinese investing in our bonds. They own big chunks of America, and they are going to continue it as long as the Republicans run the kind of deficits that they seem to think do not make any difference any more.
I remember guys out here talking about, oh, my goodness, we have to have a balanced budget amendment. This country is going to go to the dogs if we do not have a balanced budget amendment. Then they got in charge, and they started spending like there was no end to their credit card.
Stop it. Don't bash the Chinese.
Revision date: April 26, 2006
