Bill Delahunt: “Is how are we affording these tax cuts? Who is paying? Where is the money coming from? You remember that movie about…”

“Is how are we affording these tax cuts? Who is paying? Where is the money coming from? You remember that movie about follow the money? I think what is particularly disturbing is the reality that we are borrowing money to subsidize tax cuts that are skewed in favor, disproportionately, for 1 percent of the American people, and when you examine the record, and I understand we do not have any charts this evening, but when you examine the record, you discover that we are borrowing money from foreign countries to provide the funding for the tax cut, and that includes the People's Republic of China, mainland China. Now, I know that there are many in this institution that are very concerned about the emergence of China as an aggressive competitor in terms of the global economy. Some would even suggest that China is a potential adversary, and yet, here we are, borrowing money from the People's Republic of China so that we can confer a disproportionate benefit on the top 1 percent of the American people. If you give me just another moment, I think I have a chart here and I know that it is difficult to see, but let me hold it up and let me refer to it. Public debt held by China quadruples under Bush. In the year 2000, American Treasury notes and bills in the possession of the Central Bank of China amounted to $62 billion. That figure today is in excess of $270 billion, four times more in the course of 5 years, four times.…”