Washington, D.C.- Senators Rick Scott (R-Fl) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) have filed a bill to prevent the US from authorizing any International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid disbursement to countries hostile to America.
The bill follows Hamas’ terror attacks in Israel earlier in October and the subsequent destabilization of the middle-east region due to increased hostility by Iranian proxy terror groups.
Scott ad Cruz’s bill, the IMF Accountability Act, would prevent US IMF reps from authorizing the IMF from allocating Special Drawing Rights (SDR) or providing increased lending to American adversaries.
The list of countries addressed include Iran, Communist China, Russia, the Taliban Government of Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
SDRs are assets created by the IMF that can be converted to cash and transferred to an IMF member country upon approval of 85% of the IMF’s board of governors.
The US has 16% of the IMF board of governors’ total representation, which means that the IMF Accountability Act would effectively prohibit SDR transfers to the specified countries.
“Financing countries that commit human rights abuses, fund terrorism and threaten our fellow democracies goes against everything we stand for as a nation,” said Scott via press release.
Scott continued on X, stating that as “Hamas terrorists hold hostages & attack Israel, we must send a clear message to its Iranian backer: the free ride is over, you're cut off.”
As Hamas terrorists hold hostages & attack Israel, we must send a clear message to its Iranian backer: the free ride is over, you're cut off.
My IMF Accountability Act works to end IMF support for Iran, Russia, Communist China & other tyrannical regimes.https://t.co/3P0PDmhgiD
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) October 27, 2023
Senator Cruz alleged how nefarious state actors will harness the IMF’s SDRs to finance their criminal operations.
“Hostile actors and rogue regimes use IMF Special Drawing Rights to bolster their economies and reserves,” said Cruz. “ It is long past time for the United States to counter these tactics.”
