Bill Delahunt: “I hate to interrupt. I thank my friend from Florida. They have a plan which is to increase the debt that the American…”

“I hate to interrupt. I thank my friend from Florida. They have a plan which is to increase the debt that the American people owe to foreigners. You know, those numbers that we were talking about in terms of China, that $270 billion, let us just pick a number and try to help me calculate what the interest payments are to the Chinese Government every year, 4, 5 percent? Can we agree on 5 percent, because that is easy? Well, what we are doing is we have a plan that is a consequence of their fiscal policy and their tax policy that sends in interest payments every year to China, $25 billion a year. Now, when you stop and think about the $25 billion that goes to China from the United States taxpayers every year, what could we do with that $25 billion? Ms. Wasserman Schultz indicated there was a plan by Democrats regarding energy, ethanol, the use of farm products, biomass. I bet we could fund that program. I bet we could do more with that $25 billion rather than send it to the Chinese, not to reduce principal but simply to pay the interest.”