Angie Craig: “I rise to commend Chairman McConnell for the work he has done on the foreign operations portion of the Omnibus…”

“I rise to commend Chairman McConnell for the work he has done on the foreign operations portion of the Omnibus Appropriations bill. The fiscal year 1999 foreign operations appropriations package is very different in size and character from the wasteful ones passed just a few years ago by liberal Congresses. It represents a sea change in the way Congress does business and a major victory for conservative, commonsense principles. The U.S. Federal budget is now balanced--for the first time since 1969. This is the most positive economic policy development in the world today. There is room within that balanced budget for a limited, responsible program of foreign operations. The chairman's work in this bill advances U.S. leadership and protects our national security, our economic interests, and American jobs, in a rapidly changing world. For example, the way this bill deals with the International Monetary Fund is not the same old way of doing business. This bill imposes new, tough standards of accountability and transparency on the IMF. If American taxpayers are going to invest in the IMF, hoping it will produce a more stable world economy, they should be able to see where their money is going.”