Byron Dorgan: “I think people need to know that the collapse of the dollar on the currency exchanges is not something that should be…”

“I think people need to know that the collapse of the dollar on the currency exchanges is not something that should be unexpected, given the current circumstances in this country. We received about 3 or 4 weeks ago the trade data for December, which means that we have trade information for all of last year to try to evaluate how did America do in international trade. The chart that I brought to the floor shows how our country has done in international trade in the past year. This chart shows a history full of red ink. It shows that in the last calendar year we suffered the largest merchandise trade deficit in the history of this country-- in fact, the largest trade deficit in the history of humankind.”