Sherrod Brown

Mr. BROWN of Ohio

Mr. BROWN of Ohio. I thank the gentleman from yielding. The Republican leadership says this is not a bailout, this $40 billion; they say it is a line of credit. But if history is any indication, that line of credit will fairly quickly turn into a loan and that loan will fairly quickly evolve into a forgiven loan, and that forgiven loan will evolve very quickly, if history is any indication, into a $40 billion aid package. I have sent a letter to Speaker Gingrich this morning calling for hearings, that we need to slow down, that if we are going to consider this $40 billion aid package, that we as a Congress need the input of the American people, that we as a Congress need to understand better some of the issues involved in this $40 billion foreign aid package. I have outlined to Speaker Gingrich about a dozen questions that I would like to briefly mention, information that I think the American people need and this Congress needs before we can for Mexico and Mexican wealthy investors. First, what is the precise amount of the loan guarantee? I do not think we know that yet. What is the precise amount of the loan guarantee? What is the risk that Mexico will actually default on the loans? What is the historical record of repayment, as the gentleman from Michigan alluded to earlier, to United States taxpayers on other loan agreements, whether it was Mexico a dozen years ago or other loan agreements over the years that this country has generously offered to other nations that are facing fiscal and economic problems? What is the collateral for the loans? For instance, will Mexico pledge oil receipts, proceeds from the auction of container terminals or other assets? This is clearly a sensitive issue in Mexico, with Mexican public opinion not so wild about turning over some of their Mexican oil company receipts--a government oil company--to the Americans as collateral. Next, what conditions should we attach to the loan guarantees? Should one of those conditions, as the gentleman implied or suggested earlier, involve immigration control, immigration controls, rights of Mexican workers, or other social issues? Sixth or seventh, given the many commentators, including Federal Reserve officials and even members of the Zedillo administration in Mexico, have raised question concerning the handling of the currency crisis, should we demand as a condition of the loans an investigation into the performances, as the gentleman from California mentioned, the performance of the Mexican Government, including the role of the Salinas government, in order to prevent a repeat of the situation? Also, why are other nations, particularly those in our hemisphere, not contributing, not rushing to come forward in this bailout in the same manner and magnitude as is the United States? Also, is the Mexican economic crisis relevant to a discussion of the balanced budget amendment in the United States which proposes to cut drastically appropriations for the International Monetary Fund? That begs the question of where are the deficit hawks on this $40 billion, from both sides of the aisle? Those are the people who talked about the balanced budget amendment--I support the balanced budget amendment--how are we going to do that if we are going to provide a $40 billion aid bailout package to the Mexicans? Also, what provisions are there to insure that the large numbers of billionaires in Mexico do not unduly profit from the bailout? Mexico is fourth in the number of billionaires; the United States first; Japan second; Saudi Arabia third; Mexico fourth. And they are there at the expense of the middle class in Mexico, some very, very wealthy families as talked about a couple of summers ago discussing NAFTA, and lots and lots of very, very poor Mexicans, and a small middle class.