Marcy Kaptur: “there are some things that Congress and the President can really do something about. And one of those is the management…”

“there are some things that Congress and the President can really do something about. And one of those is the management of our Federal accounts. The news today reports in USA Today, Oil imports help push the trade gap to record highs. Every time I see the fact that we are importing more oil than finding ways to become more energy independent here at home, I say to myself, there is something that America really can do but is not doing. The New York Times reported, and I include this in the Record, today that the U.S. trade deficit indeed has hit record highs, threatening U.S. growth. We are going deeper and deeper into debt every day with imports climbing much faster than exports. The American people know this. One can hardly find anything made in this country anymore. In fact, the trade deficit is so huge, it is now three-quarters of $1 trillion and rising and, with it, our foreign indebtedness. This widening gap is likely to reduce our overall growth as a country. Now, our thirst for imported petroleum as a part of this increase rose 13 percent. And the Secretary of Treasury is living in another world when he says the reason that we are going into hock is because other nations are not growing fast enough, when, in fact, other nations are the very countries that are lending us money to make up this gap.…”