Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. the bill before usthe International Recovery and Financial Stability Act -is critically important to the economic wellbeing of the United States and the rest of the world. Drawing on knowledge gained from over 10 years of hearings and investigations into international banking operations. it is clear to me that passage of this bill is critical to restoring global financial stability. Our present International financial condition is serious and complex. Legislation addressing every level of the problem is needed if it is to be resolved. H.R. 2957 does precisely this. Title I will augment U.S. recovery prospects and thereby increase world trade by extending the authority of the ExportImport Bank to assist U.S. exports. Title II will enhance the prospects for sustained and noninflationary growth worldwide by encouraging the industrialized nations to coordinate their fiscal. monetary. and bank regulatory policies. Title III will strengthen the IMF by increasing the IMP commitment to this vital international agency and providing needed guidance to the U.S. representative on critically important policy matters such as the U.S. position on lending to nations which practice apartheid. Title IV will bring about much needed reforms in how the foreign lending activities of U.S. banks are monitored and regulated. particularly with regard to disclosing the true nature and extent of U.S. bank foreign lending. assuring the adequacy of bank capitalization. and providing for proper fee and loan reserve accounting. Title V will improve the longterm economic strength of the developing nations by authorizing continued U.S. participation in the InterAmerican Development Bank. the Asian Development Bank. and the African Development Fund. As we all know. H.R. 2957 is controversial. We are being asked to vote billions of dollars for institutions which are not fully within our control. Institutions governed by treaties and agreements with nations with different goals and which compete with us economically. While very few of us disagree with the basic. longterm objectives of this legislation. we differ as to tactics and timing and all have misgivings about approving allocations of U.S. funds for what on the surface appears to be for the benefit of distant nations. Increasing the U.S. commitment to the International Monetary Fund by $8.4 billion. in particular. is a source of concern to many of our colleagues. They feel the IMF funding increase in title III will benefit no one but the big banks. Ironically. the banking industry deeply believes that the foreign loan reforms and writedown provisions in title IV are too harsh. Make no mistake about it. the foreign lending reform provisions in H.R. 2957 will prevent private bank lenders from engaging in the kind of usound loan practices that flourished in recent years. However. the bill will enable soundly based credit to continue to flow and support the development and growth absolutely essential to peace and prosperity around the world. Before asking my distinguished colleagues. STEVE NEAL. chairman of the International Trade Subcommittee. and JERRY PATTERSON. chairman of the International Development Subcommittee. to provide further comment and elaboration on H.R. 2957. I would like to comment on several aspects of the bill about which I have very strong personal views. I want to explain why I personally feel the U.S. commitment to the IMP should be increased. and why the strong reform provisions concerning our banking system are needed. Mr. Chairman. I have during my entire tenure as a Member of this House. supported and voted for strong international firantial Institutions. In my judgment. the nations of tile world are today more economically and politically interdependent than at any time in human history. The transportation and communication advances of recent years have made places like Singapore and Hong Kong only a telephone call away and their financial market actions immediately critical to us here at home. The advances which have caused the nations of the world to become so interdependent cannot be reversed. They cannot be halted. They will continue. day by day and year by year. to make the world seem smaller and smaller. And just as every advanced nation found it necessary to establish and maintain effective central banking and regulatory institutions to assure sustained domestic development. strong international banking and regulatory entities are needed to assure the steady and sustained growth of world trade and development. I want to see world trade expanded. I wnat to see more world trade and economic growth for the good of the world and the United States. and particularly for the good of the people in my home State. Rhode Island. There are 372.000 civilian workers in Rhode Island. 25.000 of these people earn their income from work related to international trade. and the number of Rhode Islanders involved in world trade increases every year. My home State is not unique in the benefit it derives from exports. Mr. Chairman. at this point I insert in the RECORD a tabulation of the exports and jobs related to exports in each State.