April 01, 2021

Toomey Calls on Treasury Secretary to Abandon Support for New IMF Allocation of Foreign Aid

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Treasury notified the Committee of its intention to consider a $650 billion general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its member countries.

“The proposed $650 billion Special Drawing Rights allocation is inappropriate, inefficient, and will be costly to taxpayers. It will be helpful to repressive regimes and state-sponsors of terrorism and do little for impoverished countries. Like other forms of foreign aid, this should be subject to congressional approval rather than unilateral administrative action. I strongly urge Secretary Yellen to abandon her support for this proposal.”

On March 23, 2021, Sen. Toomey, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), and Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging her withdraw support for the IMF’s plan to allocate new SDRs without congressional approval.

Ranking Member Toomey also pressed Secretary Yellen on her support for the allocation of new SDRs during last week’s Senate Banking Committee hearing. Watch the full exchange here.

###