[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1654]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT REPORT ON SECTION 40 OF THE BRETTON WOODS 
                             AGREEMENTS ACT

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                           HON. PHIL ENGLISH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 27, 2005

  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Chairman Oxley, and I have 
discussed section 6 of my bill that requires the Department of the 
Treasury to provide a report on how Section 40 of the Bretton Woods 
Agreements Act ``can be better clarified administratively to provide 
for improved and more predictable evaluation.''
  We share the understanding that the Bretton Woods Agreements Act 
implements the international agreements that established the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group. As such, 
there is limited scope of action for the United States Government 
acting ``administratively'' to change how the IMF and the World Bank 
Group operate internally in order to achieve ``improved and more 
predictable evaluation.''
  Therefore, to clarify this provision, our intent here is that any 
report prepared by the Treasury Department would respect these limits. 
It is also our understanding and intent that any report by the Treasury 
Department pursuant to this section should provide insight regarding 
how the Treasury Department and the United States Executive Directors 
to the IMF and the World Bank Group seek to promote U.S. exchange rate 
policies within those organizations.
  I note that substantially similar language has been considered by the 
Secretary of the Treasury in the past and those limitations were 
respected. The Department of the Treasury currently provides some of 
this information to the United States Congress in other forms. We 
believe that a discussion of U.S. policy and actions within the IMF and 
the World Bank Group would be a helpful addition to the policy debate 
in the U.S. Congress. However, we are not requesting that the Treasury 
Department submit a report suggesting that the United States Government 
alone can work administratively to improve IMF and World Bank Group 
analysis and policy.

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