[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3452-S3453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2014. Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Reed) submitted 
an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1502 proposed by 
Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to establish a new Directorate for 
Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation, to 
establish a regional technology hub program, to require a strategy and 
report on economic security, science, research, innovation, 
manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a critical supply chain 
resiliency program, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on 
the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle A of title II of division C, add 
     the following:

     SEC. 3219L. SENSE OF SENATE ON ALLOCATION OF SPECIAL DRAWING 
                   RIGHTS BY INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND RELATING 
                   TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

       It is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) it is in the strategic interests of the United States 
     to help ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are available to other 
     countries, particularly poorer countries with limited 
     resources, not only as a timely live-saving and humanitarian 
     measure, but also as the best way to protect hard-fought 
     gains made against the pandemic in the United States;
       (2) the people of the United States will never be fully 
     protected against the COVID-19 pandemic until the pandemic is 
     also brought under control through vaccination around the 
     world;
       (3) the release of Special Drawing Rights by the 
     International Monetary Fund, as was done after the 2008 
     global economic crisis, is a no-cost way to help poorer 
     countries procure COVID-19 vaccines and protect against the 
     instability caused by a severe economic downturn;
       (4) helping protect against another global economic 
     meltdown by releasing Special Drawing Rights is also a way to 
     help protect United States export jobs at home, and why the 
     move is supported by leaders of United States businesses and 
     labor organizations; and

[[Page S3453]]

       (5) any allocations of Special Drawing Rights approved by 
     the International Monetary Fund to help with the purchase of 
     COVID-19 vaccines and stem the worst economic impact of the 
     pandemic should include ongoing efforts to discourage 
     countries that are allies of the United States from 
     exchanging Special Drawing Rights for hard currencies with 
     rogue countries and follow-up by the International Monetary 
     Fund to audit how such allocations were spent.
                                 ______