In order to get a loan, they have to agree to terms the Fund managers lay down with regard to correcting the practices and policies that contribute to their financial difficulties. Some in the Congress and a great many citizens think this is a giveaway which will increase our deficit. In fact, in its entire history, the two countries that have borrowed the greatest amounts from the Fund have been the United Kingdom and the United States. The sum we're asking Congress to approve does not increase our budget and is returned with interest as loans are repaid. In addition, it creates jobs, because it keeps the wheels of world commerce turning.
Exports account for one out of five manufacturing jobs in the United States.
The IMF and its programs help keep Americans at work. This is important legislation for international economic stability, and I hope you'll support it. The young girl from Texas is Ashley Bailey, and all 11 pounds of her are in critical condition at the University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis. She is now fed intravenously and has but 2 or 3 weeks to live unless she receives a liver transplant. Back in May, Congressman Charlie Stenholm of Texas wrote me of the plight of this baby girl who must receive a transplant to survive.