With the global community preparing for the 17th replenishment of the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the Bretton Woods Committee and other allies are working to demonstrate the catalytic role played by the United States in IDA’s success and the need to maintain U.S. support for IDA going forward.

On September 9, the Committee sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, which explains how well IDA works and why “no other international institution has the tools to respond to the complex challenges facing the 2.5 billion people in the world’s poorest countries.” The letter urged the U.S. Treasury to maintain the same level of funding the U.S. made available for IDA16 in the IDA17 replenishment.

The Committee’s letter parallels one sent by Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN), Chair of the World Bank Caucus, who wrote to Secretary Lew on September 6 to express her support for IDA, “because of its ability to lead on global issues and deliver results.”

As Congresswoman McCollum wrote, “the Department of the Treasury is under serious fiscal pressure, but …. a clear signal that the U.S. is willing to stretch to the maximum extent possible in the current environment is important...”

To see a snapshot of IDA’s achievements from 2002 to 2012, visit the World Bank’s website.