23704 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS October 7, 1981 EXTENSION OF REMARKS EFFECT OF HIGH INTEREST either. Take the rural electric utility I thank the Honorable Clarence C. New­ RATES and cooperative sector for example: comer, Judge of this distinguished United Interest as a percent of total costs can States District Court, for the invitation he HON. ED JONES be in excess of 50 percent. has accorded to me. I deeply value the privi­ Contrary to the general impression lege and the opportunity to say a few words OF TENNESSEE that rural electrics borrow from the of greeting to you our newest fellow citi­ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES zens. Just a few minutes ago, you received Rural Electrification Administration the oath of American citizenship and you Wednesday, October 7, 1981 at very low interest rates, 85 percent have just given your allegiance to the de­ e Mr. JONES of Tennessee. Mr. of REA financing is loaned at rates mocracy, to the heritage, to the spirit and to Speaker, I want to take a moment currently in excess of 15 percent. the laws of our country. today to speak out on an issue that The effects of the high interest rates It was here in Philadelphia that freedom has been of growing concern to me on the consumer of the rural electric in the New World was born in 1776. As you over the past several months: The cooperative are devastating. The aver­ know, our Nation was founded by immi­ age monthly interest cost of energy grants. <The only aborigines are the Eskimo effect of outrageously high interest and the American Indian.) And these pio­ rates on our Nation's agricultural per rural consumer produced by a new neers brought with them the strong desire sector. plant constructed with the current 15 to work, to become productive and to give During the past few months, I have percent REA-Federal Financing Bank their children and grandchildren a better traveled extensively throughout my rate is almost $50. This interest cost is opportunity to get an education and to have west Tennessee district talking to for energy production alone and does a better life than they could receive else­ farmers and small businessmen about not include the fuel, distribution, where. the issues of most concern to them. maintenance, administrative, deprecia­ My own parents were immigrants. My With the possible exception of feared tion, taxes, and other necessary costs. father arrived in 1904; my mother in 1909. cuts in the social security program, Unless interest rates are brought They knew this was a land of opportunity, under control, their effect will be to just as thousands upon thousands; yes, mil­ the most talked about issue on the lions upon millions before them knew this. minds of my constituents was the stag­ fuel the fire of inflation through Today, forty-three children, grandchildren nant and crippling effects of high in­ higher electric energy rates and and great grandchildren later, there are terest rates now being felt in our rural higher costs of food and other basic thirty-two college and university degrees in farm areas. necessities to all Americans. my family. And I say this, not in terms of This high interest rate policy im­ Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this oppor­ braggadocio-but in tribute to my parents, posed by the Federal Reserve Board, tunity today to share with my col­ who inculcated the love of freedom and edu­ and being fostered and supported by leagues these important concerns. I cation into their children and into their the President and his economic advis­ have personally contacted the Presi­ children's children. ers, is having a profoundly detrimen­ dent with my views on this issue. If we My fellow citizens, on the base of the continue on this road of high interest Statue of Liberty are the immortal words tal impact on any chance of successful which symbolize the spirit of America, program for economic recovery. rate policies, I fear we will shut off "Give me your poor, your tired, your hud­ In focusing on the effects of high in­ any opportunity for the expansion of dled masses yearning to breathe free. Send terest rates on American farmers, I the economy, particularly in our farm these the homeless, the tempest tossed to think it is helpful to look at a few cold and rural areas, that we are all hope­ me. I lift this lamp beside this golden door." facts. ful of.e To what golden door did Emma Lazarus According to figures released in refer? To the door of golden opportunity. August by USDA's Economic Research NEW CITIZENS But just like any other door-it takes a Service, farm foreclosures are expect­ particular key to unlock it. That key is hard ed to exceed 2,900 in this year alone. work. There is no substitute for hard work. This figure represents an incredible HON. JOSEPH F. SMITH Opportunity and hard work go hand in OF PENNSYLVANIA hand. In fact, hard work has always been 26-percent increase over last year. In the cornerstone of America's economic large part, I believe the cause for this IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES progress. alarming projection can be attributed Wednesday, October 7, 1981 Recently, I received a letter from a great to the deadly one-two punch of infla­ •Mr. SMITH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge, the tion and high interest rates. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the Honorable Stephen J. McEwen, Jr. In writ­ In my own State of Tennessee, the attention of the Members of the ing about the United States he said, and I rate of farm foreclosures has more House remarks which were delivered quote, "The orators echo that it is a land of than quadrupled over the past year, freedom and the authors describe it as a by the Honorable Gregory G. Lagakos, land of abundance. They are, of course, cor­ and now stands at nearly three times judge of the court of common pleas rect, but this country is every bit as much a the national average. for the city of Philadelphia, on the oc­ land of opportunity." Oh, my friends, isn't The racing increase in the apprecia­ casion of the naturalization of new that beautiful? That is the credo of Amer­ tion of land values that we have expe­ citizens. ica! rienced in recent years seems to be These words eloquently describe the But with opportunity there also devolves breaking fast. Appreciation in land prtnciples on which our country was upon us a series of corresponding responsi­ value is not keeping pace with infla­ based. We should all keep these ideals bilities. First, the responsibility and the ob­ tion, and the equity which farmers ligation to obey the law. The statesman in mind as we serve the people of our Pericles said in one of his great orations have in their land is rapidly being country in this great body. eaten away by the high cost of repay­ wherein he paid honor to his fellow citizens The remarks follow: who had laid down their lives in the defense ing loans for farm production and real REMARKS OF HON. GREGORY G. LAGAKOS of their country, "We are a free democracy, estate. Your Honor Judge Newcomer, representa­ but we are obedient. We obey the law of Not only are high interest rates tives of the Philadelphia Bar Association Athens." having their devastating effect on the <our Nation's oldest organized Bar Associa­ And so-Obedience to the law is a cardinal farmer, but the rural resident is not tion), distinguished guests and fellow citi­ principle of good citizenship. We must all without escape from their effects zens. obey the law; the laws of the Congress, the e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by the Member on the floor. October 7, 1981 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 23705 laws of our State Legislature and the Ordi­ CHARLESTON NAVAL SHIPYARD quired by their husbands' careers in nances of our City. EMPLOYEES SHOULD NOT BE the Armed Forces and yet who now What is the second fundamental responsi­ LIABLE FOR NAVY ERROR live in or near abject poverty, aban­ bility of good citizens? Socrates said it over doned by the country they felt they 2,500 years ago <and the concept of citizen­ HON.THOMASF.HARTNETT too were serving. Many of these ship he laid down then still obtains today). widows refuse to swallow their pride He said, "The person who is not interested OF SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES and apply for welfare, a term repug­ in the affairs of his government is not a nant to many self-reliant older Ameri­ man who minds his own business-but is a Wednesday, October 7, 1981 cans. What adds insult to injury is man who is good for nothing." The immor­ tal poet, Dante, restated this same principle e Mr. HARTNETT. Mr. Speaker, 16 that they feel, and I wholeheartedly in slightly different language some 2,000 civil service employees at the Charles­ agree, they are entitled to assistance years later. He said, "The hottest places in ton Naval Shipyard have been re­ based on their long years of support Hell are reserved for those who in the time quired to repay the Government a por­ and service to our military men and of great moral crisis maintain a neutrality." tion of their per diem allowance, as a should not have to depend on a hand­ What both Pericles and Dante were result of an erroneous overpayment by out.