Senate Passes Spending Bill With $17.9 Billion for IMF

The U.S. Senate passed a $30.5-billion bill to fund U.S. operations abroad and replenish the drained reserves of the International Monetary Fund, setting the stage for a showdown vote on the IMF in the House of Representatives later this month.

The Senate voted 90 to 3 to pass the ninth of the 13 spending bills required every year to fund government operations. The bill includes $17.9 billion for the IMF: $3.4 billion for a new lending fund and $14.5 billion for its standard loan programs.

“This is about America’s interests and American economic stability and global economic stability,” said Sen. Charles Hagel (R-Neb.).

The Senate bill requires the U.S. Treasury to certify that the major shareholders in the IMF have publicly agreed to seek changes in the organization’s lending programs before the $17.9 billion will be released.

Although the Senate version is acceptable to the Clinton administration, Republicans in the House have sought to force the IMF to make even more drastic changes in its policies, which they say have failed to stem the financial crisis sweeping Asia.

A House panel has so far approved only $3.5 billion in IMF funding. The House Appropriations Committee will probably decide Sept. 10 whether to add the other $14.4 billion.

Opposition to the funding is led by House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas). In a letter to colleagues circulated Tuesday, he blamed the IMF for destabilizing financial markets with its bailout programs for Russia and Asia.

“The IMF had the resources and freedom to do what it wanted in Russia,” Armey wrote. “The result was a disastrous financial implosion that reverberated around the world.”