Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss], a very distinguished member of the Committee on Rules. (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, as we debate this fair rule for consideration of this very important constitutional amendment, I ask the question: Why is there a very serious financial crisis in Mexico today that we are dealing with precisely in this Congress because of its worrisome effects? Because of lack of confidence by the international financial community on the ability of Mexico to pay on debt that will shortly be coming due. Investors will no longer buy bonds there due to uncertainty regarding whether they will be paid, whether those bonds will be paid when they mature. In other words, when they come due. Now, if our own debt continues to increase indefinitely, even though, for example, even economists like Keynes, who believe in stimulation of the economy through deficit spending occasionally, he never, for example, supported permanent deficit spending. If our debt would continue to grow indefinitely, $4 trillion, $5 trillion, $6 trillion, $7 trillion, theoretically, and then there would one day be doubt as to our creditworthiness, God forbid if that ever happened, who would bail us out, Madam Speaker? Who would bail us out? The International Monetary Fund? No, we pay more into the International Monetary Fund than anybody else? Germany, Saudi Arabia? Who would bail the United States of America out, Madam Speaker? Is it acceptable to depend on other countries to theoretically bail us out? No, it is not. We must stand on our own for our children and for their children and their grandchildren, and we owe it to them to be able to stand on our own and maintain due to fiscal responsibility now and an end to fiscal irresponsibility, the economic security into the future that we require, that is why we need to pass this rule and this constitutional amendment.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, history puts so much in perspective and in context. We are going today to bring forth before this House a constitutional amendment to require that our Federal budget be balanced. Very prosperous countries in the past, very wealthy countries, even in this hemisphere, for example, Argentina, if we look at the history in the early part of this century, Argentina was among the most prosperous countries in the world. If we look now at the dilemma that we are faced with in Mexico, an economy that is part of NAFTA, and it is a very thriving economy, these instances in our recent history and in the recent history of this hemisphere point to the fact that fiscal irresponsibility can destroy even prosperous, even very growing economies. When we realize that even Keynes, Mr. Speaker, never envisioned permanent deficit spending, we realize that we must put our budget under constraints. We must put ourselves under constraints, as every family in America has to. We must pass this amendment to balance the budget.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of my party today. After 40 years in opposition, being closed out time and time again with regard to the ability, that most essential ability on behalf of one's constituents, to introduce amendments and to speak in behalf of those amendments on this floor, and despite, in addition to that, the very substantial legislative agenda that we have contracted with the American people that we will pass within the first 100 days and the necessary time constraints that come together with that agenda, despite that, we bring the first piece of legislation to the floor today with an open rule process, with an open rule. Now, it is not easy always to enter into dialog with the American people with regard to procedure, because it seems sometimes too technical. But the heart of democracy, Mr. Speaker, is procedure, just like the heart of due process of law is procedure, and the procedure that is at the heart of the fairness with which we are bringing forth this first piece of legislation today to the floor is called the open rule, the ability for all Members of this House, despite whether they are in the minority or majority, to bring forth whatever amendments they have on behalf of their constituents that they would like to be considered by their colleagues. So I am proud of my party. I am proud of the fact that despite the fact that we do not have to, because we are in the majority, we, nevertheless, are giving the opposition the fairness that they denied us.