Watson Coleman: “I rise to commend President Clinton's action today to help stabilize the Mexican economy by Executive order. With the…”

“I rise to commend President Clinton's action today to help stabilize the Mexican economy by Executive order. With the President pledging $20 billion in U.S. loan guarantees from the U.S. Exchange Stabilization Fund, a Democrat once again averts another major foreign policy crisis with no Republican help. This new plan which includes contributions from the International Monetary Fund and other international organizations will stem the plunge of the peso which dropped to its all-time-low in value to close at 6.3 to the dollar yesterday. As a strong supporter of NAFTA and the Mexican stabilization package, I am very gratified to see today's action because small businesses and retailers in my district and across the Southwest will benefit from a sound Mexican economy. In Texas, about 262,400 workers are employed producing products ultimately destined for Mexico. Our national security interests were also at stake. If the Mexican situation was not resolved, there were estimates that undocumented immigration could have risen by more than 30 percent--or an additional one-half million economic refugees to our country this year. International observers were also monitoring our response to the Mexican crisis with great interest. The United States credibility was at stake. What today's action also shows is that the leadership vacuum has been filled in this new year. The President stepped up to the plate and delivered on the question of what is good for our country.”