Byron Dorgan: “I worry very much that we are facing a slowdown in our economy that could be very significant. I hope Mr. Greenspan and…”

“I worry very much that we are facing a slowdown in our economy that could be very significant. I hope Mr. Greenspan and the Federal Reserve Board in December will decide they should begin to cut interest rates. Six increases in interest rates since June 1999 have clearly slowed growth in this country in a way, in some respects, that put us in a perilous position, with the liquidity crisis and a range of other issues that could very well derail the longest and strongest period of economic growth in American history. I have come to the floor previously when the Federal Reserve Board was searching for evidence of inflation--searching in closets, under beds, in virtually every crevice, trying to find some evidence of inflation, and used that fear to increase interest rates six times. We have had the highest real interest rates for many years in this country, and they threaten, in my judgment, to derail this economic growth. I hope the Fed in December will think seriously about beginning to reduce interest rates to preserve an opportunity for continued growth.”