The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate
the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment No. 56 offered by Mr. PAUL:
Page 2, strike line 21 and all that follows
through line 17 on page 3.
(Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission
to revise and extend his remarks.)
2001 Ron Paul 62:2
Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Chairman, my amendment
strikes the paragraph on page 2,
line 21 entitled “subsidy appropriation.”
I do not believe this Congress
should be in the business of subsidizing
anyone. We should be protecting the
American taxpayer, and we should be
protecting the individual liberty of all
American citizens, not dealing in subsidies.
2001 Ron Paul 62:3
This paragraph is found in the bill
which is called “foreign operations.” It
is a subsidy to large corporations, and
it is a subsidy to foreign entities and
foreign governments. The largest foreign
recipient of the foreign aid from
this bill is Red China, $6.2 billion. So if
one is for free trade, as I am, and as I
voted last week to trade with China,
one should be positively in favor of my
amendment, because this is not free
trade. This is subsidized, special interest
trade, and I think that is wrong.
2001 Ron Paul 62:4
There has been a lot of talk today on
the previous amendment dealing with
jobs, and jobs are important. We have
an economy now that is turning downwards
and jobs are being lost. In this
bill, this particular paragraph and the
Export-Import Bank does deal with
jobs.
2001 Ron Paul 62:5
Those in opposition to my amendment
make the point that jobs are enhanced
in the big corporations like
Boeing. That is true, to a degree, but
there is a net loss of jobs because the
same entity, the Export-Import Bank,
literally exports jobs by subsidizing
and loaning money to foreign entities
that compete with us. Not only does
some of this money end up in the hands
of our competitors and hurt us here at
home, but it ends up in the hands of
our potential enemies. This is the reason
why we should be out of the business
of the Export-Import Bank.
2001 Ron Paul 62:6
It has been said that this is a benefit
to so many small corporations. In the
last 2 years, more than half of the Export-
Import Bank money went to Boeing.
So it is not surprising that the
gentleman early on mentioned that
yes, he would not mind it if all of it
went to Boeing. It is said that 85 percent
of the money in the individual
loans goes to smaller corporations.
That is true, but 86 percent of the
money goes to the giant corporations.
So the big bucks serve the big interests
who lobby us and spend a lot of time
influencing Washington.
2001 Ron Paul 62:7
There is a lot of mal-investment in
the economy, misappropriation of
money and investments that generates
overcapacity, which is a consequence of
monetary policy. It is a serious problem;
and we are today facing the consequence,
because we are now moving
into a rather severe recession. But at
the same time, export financing compounds
that problem. It adds on to it
because it is an allocation of credit.
2001 Ron Paul 62:8
This argument that we create jobs is
fictitious. We do not create jobs; we
shift jobs, from the weak to the powerful.
We do not create a new job by
stealing, taking out $75 billion worth of
a line of credit from the banks and giving
it to special interests. Yes, it looks
like they are getting a benefit, but the
little guy does not have access to that
amount of money. Why should the
banks not loan Export-Import Bank
money to the large corporations. They
are protected. They are insured. Who
insures them? The taxpayer. It is a ripoff.
The taxpayer suffers all of the
risks.
2001 Ron Paul 62:9
Now, if the deal is successful and
there is no economic calamity in the
country where we go and there is no
political crisis, then who makes the
profits? Corporations make the profits.
It is the best deal going for large corporations.
2001 Ron Paul 62:10
If we oppose corporate welfare and
think we ought to address it on principle
and decide whether or not the
Congress and the U.S. Government and
the taxpayers should be in this type of
business, we have to vote for my
amendment to get us out of this business.
This does not serve the interests
of the general welfare of the people.
This is antagonistic toward the general
welfare of the people. It costs the taxpayers
money, it puts the risk on the
taxpayer, it serves the interests of the
powerful special interests. Why else
would they come with their lobbying
funds? Why else would they come with
their huge donations to the political
action committees, unless it is a darn
good deal for them?
2001 Ron Paul 62:11
They say it is a good deal for Boeing
workers, but in 1995 there was a strike
by the machinists against Boeing because
Boeing agreed to buy the tail
portion of the 737 from Red China.
2001 Ron Paul 62:12
We are certainly losing jobs to Red
China, Mexico, and other places. I do
not mind it if that is a market consequence,
but when it is done at the expense
of the American taxpayer and it
hurts us, we should not do it.
