US Lawmakers Back Increased Funding For IMF

Lawmakers on Wednesday said they support US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's call to significantly increase funding for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator John Kerry said there was bipartisan support on the panel for providing additional resources. He spoke at a press conference following a meeting with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

The US share of the IMF's New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) is about 20 percent, meaning the US could contribute about $100 billion to the facility under the proposed expansion. In addition, Kerry said there was general agreement at the committee meeting for some amount of increase in IMF funding.

Strauss-Kahn said he supports not only the increase in resources but also more voting power within the IMF for emerging economies. Zoellick expressed concern about trade protectionism and warned senators about the negative effects of countries restricting imports. 'The danger of protectionism, whether of a creeping or overt type, would really make a situation that is very bad much worse,' said Zoellick.