‘The free ride is over’: GOP presents bill to halt giving cash to adversaries, but will it pass?

A Republican congressman thinks it is “common sense,” to not give “taxpayer money to your enemies”, and has introduced legislation to stop it.

Scott Franklin, R.-Fla. will be reportedly introducing a Bill Tuesday which would give Congress more legislative power over the International Monetary Fund. This is to ensure that U.S. tax dollars aren’t handed over by American adversaries like China, Iran and North Korea.

The IMF Accountability Act aims to “prohibit United States representatives from voting for Special Drawing Rights, quotas increases or policy modifications which would benefit certain countries and other purposes” at the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF defines a Special Drawing Rights as “an international reserves asset” that is “equivalent in value to a basket of currencies around the world”. According to the IMF, “the SDR is not a currency itself but an asset which holders can exchange when necessary for currency.”

Ad

Franklin told Fox News that “you don’t give your taxpayer dollars to enemies. That’s common sense.” “Unfortunately the Biden administration has allowed billions of dollars to be transferred from the IMF – funded in part by the U.S. – to our enemies like China, Russia Iran and North Korea.

He added, “These funds help them achieve their political goals and to strengthen their economies.” This is a sign of weakness on the global stage, and it should never happen. Our bill will improve Congressional oversight of these decisions, and prevent American taxpayer dollars from being placed in the hands the world’s worst criminals.

Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican senator and Rick Scott, a Florida Republican senator, have introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

“Rogue regimes and hostile actors use IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to boost their economies and reserve.” This capability directly undermines American attempts to hold such regimes responsible through sanctions and, therefore, the safety and security for Americans”, Cruz said in a recent statement.

Scott said that the “free ride” was over and thanked Franklin for “leading the charge in House.”

The Florida senator stated that the United States had to act as Iran-backed Hamas continues to attack Israel and hold hundreds of hostages, including Americans. We must send a strong message to terror sponsors and bad regimes around the world that the free ride has ended. My bill, the IMF Accountability Act will prevent U.S. Representatives to the IMF supporting tyrannical world regimes, and benefiting the economic strength America and our allies and partners.”

U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) said that he “fully supported the IMF Accountability Act as a crucial measure to ensure U.S. Resources are not being used to aid adversaries.”

Gooden, Franklin’s co-sponsor in the House of Representatives, said: “This bill returns oversight to Congress and safeguards our nation’s investment from supporting regimes which oppose our values or threaten global stability.”

Franklin’s fellow Florida Republican Rep. Gus Billirakis also supports the bill and is a co-sponsor.

He told Fox News Digital that the Biden Administration’s appeasement strategy when dealing with our enemies on the international stage was a failure. It has emboldened rogue regimes. “We must regain strength by adopting an America-first strategy that clearly prohibits the Biden Administration to reward these bad actors, who are out to harm us and cause global instabilities.”

The IMF states on its website that it “works towards sustainable growth and prosper for all of its members” and is “governed and accountable by its member countries.”

The site explains that the IMF’s three missions are to promote international monetary co-operation, encourage trade and economic growth and discourage policies that harm prosperity. To fulfill these missions IMF member nations work collaboratively together and with other international organizations.