William R. Richardson: “the issue of guaranteeing loans for Mexico is not the S&L bailout. It is not NAFTA once again. It is not bailing out big…”

“the issue of guaranteeing loans for Mexico is not the S&L bailout. It is not NAFTA once again. It is not bailing out big businesses and corporations. Let us not politicize an issue where we have no choice but to act in a responsible and bipartisan manner. The issue of guaranteeing loans to Mexico is in our national interests. Surely we are helping a friend, but it also means keeping a hundred one million jobs in exports. It means stopping an influx of additional illegal immigrants. It means stopping an erosion of Third World economies. Mr. Speaker, let us not impose some conditions that preserve taxpayers exposure. Let us make sure there is an up-front fee and that we are paid in full. But again, Mr. Speaker, let us not politicize an issue that we need to act on in a bipartisan and responsible manner.”