Waters Statement at Hearing on International Financial Institutions

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, gave the following statement at a subcommittee hearing on the effectiveness of international financial institutions with David Malpass, Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you very much. I’d like to thank Under Secretary Malpass for coming before our Committee again to discuss the role of the United States in ensuring the effectiveness of the international financial institutions.

This Committee has a long history of supporting the important work of the World Bank and the regional development banks. We have also been strong advocates over the years of reforms that were not only important to furthering the mission of the development banks, but also critical in helping to ensure broad congressional support for these institutions.

We have also in the past worked in a bipartisan fashion to support the IMF in times of crisis, at the same time that we pressed the Fund to pay more attention to the social dimension that must be present when decisions about economic assistance are made.

Although there have been periods, of course, more recently, where the spirit of cooperation on issues related to global economic governance was much less in evidence, I feel optimistic.

I look forward to working with you next Congress to ensure that accountability and effectiveness at the international financial institutions remain strong, that broad public debate about the IMF’s and the multilateral development banks’ policies remains active, and that the international interests of poverty alleviation, growth, and economic stability continue to be advanced.

So, I thank you very much and I yield back.

Ranking Member Waters has long supported the important work of international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and regional development banks.

The term “international financial institutions” is statutorily defined in the International Financial Institutions Act. It refers to the International Monetary Fund, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, African Development Bank, African Development Fund, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa, and Inter-American Investment Corporation.

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