FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Bretton Woods Committee applauds successful markup of Legislation to strengthen U.S. leadership in the IMF

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 12, 2014) ---The leadership and members of the Bretton Woods Committee wish to thank Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Bob Corker (R-TN) for their strong leadership in introducing important legislation that promotes U.S. national security and economic interests by adopting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota reform to strengthen U.S. leadership in the IMF.

"The foresight of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in including the IMF quota reform legislation in the Ukraine aid bill reinforces the valuable role the IMF plays as a strategic partner to the United States and its allies in assisting countries such as Ukraine in their need for international financial assistance," said Bretton Woods Committee Executive Director Randy Rodgers. The legislation comes at a time when Ukraine is seeking help both from the IMF and the United States to stabilize its economy.

"An undeniable fact is that the IMF has been a vital tool in every U.S. administration’s foreign policy arsenal since the Fund’s inception. Working through the IMF, the United States leverages its influence farther to promote objectives of growth, financial stabilization, and sound economic policies in strategically important countries around the globe. This serves U.S. interests, and affords a bigger 'bang for the buck' in terms of resources and reach than if the United States were to 'go it alone,'" said Rodgers.

Over two dozen former Cabinet officials and top national security and military minds spanning eight administrations from Nixon to Obama – including Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, James Baker, Tom Ridge, Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Hadley, and Leon Panetta – signed a Bretton Woods Committee letter urging enactment of the IMF quota reform legislation and expressing strong support for U.S. leadership in the Fund. The letter can be found here.

The Bretton Woods Committee also distributed a broad-based bipartisan letter with signatures from 190 policy experts, business and academic leaders, and former Senate-confirmed appointees who had oversight responsibilities for organizations like the IMF. The letter can be found here.

The Committee urges Congress to maintain its longstanding, bipartisan support of the International Monetary Fund by quickly enacting the 2010 IMF quota reform legislation together with the Ukraine bilateral financial assistance package.
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The Bretton Woods Committee is the nonpartisan network of prominent global citizens, which works to demonstrate the value of international economic cooperation and to foster strong, effective Bretton Woods institutions as forces for global well-being. For more information contact: Randy Rodgers, Executive Director at 202-331-1616.