Byron Dorgan: “I want to start my presentation by saying it is not my intention to come to the floor of the Senate to persuade people…”

“I want to start my presentation by saying it is not my intention to come to the floor of the Senate to persuade people Mr. Greenspan is not a good person or has not been a good public servant--I do not believe that. He is someone with great skill and great devotion to public service. But I do come to say that I have profound differences with Mr. Greenspan over monetary policy issues and I believe his stewardship with the Federal Reserve Board, while widely hailed by many, falls short of what I think should have been done at the Fed during the same period. As I begin this discussion, let me point out that just this afternoon the Federal Reserve Board has announced yet another interest rate hike. They have announced today that the Federal Open Market Committee is hiking short-term interest rates another one quarter of 1 percent. It means the Federal Reserve Board is imposing a tax on every single American with these interest rate hikes because they are worried about some new wave of inflation that does not exist in our country.”