[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 88 (Friday, June 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 2346, SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2009

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                               speech of

                           HON. BRAD SHERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 11, 2009

  Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I voted against the motion. One of my 
concerns about the Supplemental as passed by the Senate is the fact 
that it contains funding for the International Monetary Fund without 
language designed to ensure that the IMF provide no assistance to 
countries that support terrorism, raise proliferation concerns, or are 
major human rights abusers, most notably Iran. Proponents of the motion 
mentioned their objections to the IMF funding; some raised similar 
concerns that the IMF could assist some of the worst regimes. However, 
a close reading of the motion reveals that conferees could implement 
the instructions without any cut to IMF funding and without adding any 
preconditions that the IMF would have to meet before obtaining $109 
billion. Given the political realities, I believe that this is the 
direction the conferees would take to implement these instructions in 
the event they did not ignore them altogether. Thus this motion does 
not instruct conferees to do anything at all to IMF funding and, if 
implemented will lead to cuts to worthy domestic and international 
accounts. For these reasons, I could not support the motion.

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