[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ALLOW TREASURY TO WAIVE VOTING AUTHORITY

  (Mr. HILL of Arkansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention 
to a bill that I will be introducing this week.
  My legislation allows the Secretary of the Treasury to waive voting 
authority for the international financial institutions on a case-by-
case basis.
  The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund receive U.S. 
funding and are subject to legislative oversight, which often dictates 
by a mandate what projects and policies they can endorse.
  For example, when the World Bank takes a vote to approve a lending 
project, the United States may have to abstain or vote against it due 
to the parameters put forward by a mandate from Congress. Even further, 
Congress keeps adding to the mandates and has never tried to streamline 
them, resulting in mandates that are antiquated and can actually 
conflict with one another.
  As a result, the Financial Services Committee has increasingly come 
to a bipartisan consensus that new mandates should have waiver 
authority and sunset clauses.
  This legislation would allow the Treasury Secretary to waive a 
mandate and be able to properly vote on a financing, subject to a 
written report as to why to Congress. This means more flexibility to 
pursue our national interests, but also strong accountability to 
Congress.

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