On the recordMay 17, 2010
I continue to have deep concerns about the legislation we are debating. I mentioned some of those concerns last week, including the bailout provisions that still effectively remain in the bill and the so-called orderly liquidation process that could give some firms special treatment outside of the Bankruptcy Code. I repeat my appreciation to Senator Sessions from Alabama for offering his amendment last week which would have corrected that. Unfortunately, it was defeated last Thursday, as most of the amendments have been. At this time, I offer another amendment that would protect the American taxpayer from bailing out foreign governments. We all know that this scene, which we saw displayed across cable television and in the newspapers, is being played out now in Greece where literally a Greek tragedy is unfolding. How did this happen? First, Greece's public debt was 115 percent of its gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund. Putting that in context, according to the Congressional Budget Office report of March 2010, the public debt of the United States is currently 53 percent of our gross domestic product. However, the Congressional Budget Office, the official scorekeeper of the government, says, all else being equal--in other words, if nothing else happens--the baseline estimate for that debt in ten years will be 67.5 percent, up from 53 percent last year.
