On the recordJune 28, 2011
I will be happy to be interrupted by the managers of the bill if they decide to come. imf bailout Madam President, there have been several recent warnings of large and growing risks in global markets from the European debt crisis. If Greece defaults, which investors see as likely, and European officials are unable to agree on how to restructure Greece's debt, lack of confidence in sovereign debt could spread. Investors could run away from liabilities issued by other highly indebted Eurozone countries or even the debt of the United States. Unfortunately, the President continues his disengagement in our debt problems. The administration continues to advocate more runaway deficit spending, continuing down the path toward European-style big government. Our debt-financed unsustainable debt is pushing us toward our own fiscal crisis. Yet the President has failed to lead us to a sound fiscal solution. My concern about the European debt crisis is about the possible exposure of the U.S. to a European-led contagion that could lead to catastrophe in the global market for U.S. Treasury securities. The U.S. financial system has exposures to liabilities of the public sectors, the banks, and the private sectors of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain, four highly indebted Eurozone countries. The extent of the exposure is unclear but is potentially greater than half a trillion dollars.…
