Bill Summary
The "Robust International Response to Pandemic Act" is a bill proposed in the United States Congress that aims to ensure support from international financial institutions in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The bill instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to use the country's voice and vote at these institutions to seek adequate funding for world economies, suspend debt service payments, and relax fiscal targets for governments operating programs supported by these institutions. It also requires the support for the issuance of special drawing rights by the International Monetary Fund to provide additional resources for countries to combat the pandemic. The Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies is also required to include a report on the progress made in implementing these policies in their annual report. The bill will expire either after one year or 30 days after the Secretary of the Treasury reports that the COVID-19 virus is no longer a major threat to public health worldwide.
Possible Impacts
1. The suspension of debt service payments to international financial institutions could provide relief for countries struggling with economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This could potentially benefit individuals and businesses in those countries who are facing financial hardship.
2. The relaxation of fiscal targets for government programs could allow for increased spending on healthcare and other essential services, potentially improving access to healthcare for individuals affected by the pandemic.
3. The issuance of special drawing rights by the International Monetary Fund could provide additional resources for governments to address the pandemic, potentially leading to improved healthcare systems and support for individuals affected by the virus.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6581 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6581
To ensure international financial institution support for a robust
international response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 21, 2020
Mr. Garcia of Illinois (for himself, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Takano, Mr.
Lynch, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Lee of California, Ms.
Norton, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Rush, Mr. Connolly, Mr.
Cohen, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Tlaib, and Mr. Carson of Indiana) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure international financial institution support for a robust
international response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
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 ``Robust International Response to
Pandemic Act''.
SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR A ROBUST GLOBAL RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
(a) United States Policies at the International Financial
Institutions.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall
instruct the United States Executive Director at each
international financial institution (as defined in section
1701(c)(2) of the International Financial Institutions Act) to
use the voice and vote of the United States in the respective
institution--
(A) to seek to ensure adequate fiscal space for
world economies in response to the global COVID-19
pandemic through the suspension of all debt service
payments to the institution, and the relaxation of
fiscal targets for any government operating a program
supported by such an institution and for any government
who seeks financing from such an institution in
response to the pandemic; and
(B) to oppose the approval or endorsement of any
loan, grant, document, or strategy that would lead to a
decrease in health care spending or in any other
spending that would impede the ability of any country
to prevent or contain the spread of, or treat persons
who are or may be infected with, the COVID-19 virus.
(2) IMF issuance of special drawing rights.--The Secretary
of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive
Director at the International Monetary Fund to use the voice
and vote of the United States to support the issuance of a
special allocation of at least 3,000,000,000,000 Special
Drawing Rights so that governments are able to access
additional resources to finance their response to the global
COVID-19 pandemic.
(b) Report Required.--The Chairman of the National Advisory Council
on International Monetary and Financial Policies shall include in the
annual report required by section 1701 of the International Financial
Institutions Act a description of progress made toward advancing the
policies described in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Sunset.--Subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall have no
force or effect after the earlier of--
(1) the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act; or
(2) 30 days after the date that the Secretary of the
Treasury reports to the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate that the COVID-19 virus is no longer a serious
threat to public health in any part of the world.
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