[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3331 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3331

 To ensure the transparency of International Monetary Fund operations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 1998

 Mr. Saxton (for himself, Mr. Armey, and Mr. Campbell) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking and 
                           Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To ensure the transparency of International Monetary Fund operations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``IMF Transparency and Efficiency Act 
of 1998''.

SEC. 2. DENIAL OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND IF 
              ITS OPERATIONS ARE NOT MADE MORE TRANSPARENT.

    Title XV of the International Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 
262o-262o-1) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1503. DENIAL OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND 
              IF ITS OPERATIONS ARE NOT MADE MORE TRANSPARENT.

    ``(a) In General.--An officer, employee, or agent of the United 
States may not, directly or indirectly, provide Federal funds to, or 
for the benefit of the International Monetary Fund unless--
            ``(1) there is in effect a written certification, made by 
        the Secretary of the Treasury to the Committee on Banking and 
        Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, 
        that the International Monetary Fund has met the requirements 
        of subsection (b); and
            ``(2) the Congress has enacted a joint resolution approving 
        the certification.
    ``(b) Requirements.--The requirements of this subsection are the 
following:
            ``(1) Within 3 months after any meeting of the Board of 
        Governors or the Executive Board of the International Monetary 
        Fund, an edited copy of the minutes of the meeting shall be 
        made available for public inspection, with the following 
        information redacted:
                    ``(A) Information which, if released, would 
                adversely affect the national security of a country, 
                and which is of the type that would be classified by 
                United States Government.
                    ``(B) Information which, if released, would disrupt 
                markets.
                    ``(C) Proprietary information.
            ``(2) Within 3 months after staff of the International 
        Monetary Fund makes a loan document, written review, program 
        document, or assessment of any proposed or ongoing loan program 
        of the International Monetary Fund a copy of the review, 
        document, or assessment, and all related and supporting 
        materials, shall be made available for public inspection, with 
        the following information redacted:
                    ``(A) Information which, if released, would 
                adversely affect the national security of a country, 
                and which is of the type that would be classified by 
                United States Government.
                    ``(B) Information which, if released, would disrupt 
                markets.
                    ``(C) Proprietary information.
            ``(3) Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this section:
                    ``(A) The International Monetary Fund shall 
                establish an independent advisory board to review the 
                research, operations, and loan programs of the 
                International Monetary Fund.
                    ``(B) The legislature of each country which is 
                represented on the Executive Board of the International 
                Monetary Fund shall each appoint to the advisory board 
                1 individual with expertise in private sector finance 
                gained in the private sector or in academia.
                    ``(C) The advisory board shall issue annual reports 
                summarizing its activities, which shall be available 
                immediately for public inspection.
            ``(4) The annual rate at which the International Monetary 
        Fund charges interest on loans made after the date of the 
        enactment of this section shall be comparable to the average 
        annual rate of interest in financial markets for loans of 
        comparable maturity, adjusted for risk.
    ``(c) Effective Period of Certification.--
            ``(1) In general.--A certification made under this section 
        shall cease to be in effect 1 year after the date the 
        certification is made.
            ``(2) Revocation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A certification made under this 
                section shall cease to be in effect if the Secretary of 
                the Treasury revokes the certification.
                    ``(B) Cause for revocation.--The Secretary of the 
                Treasury shall revoke a certification made under this 
                section if the Secretary of the Treasury is made aware 
                that the International Monetary Fund has ceased to meet 
                a requirement of subsection (b).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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