IMF ACTION: No to $18B more (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

From:          50 Years is Enough
Subject:       IMF ACTION: No to $18B more

TO:  All 50 Years Activists and Friends 
RE:  EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT:  NO TO EXPANDED IMF FUNDING 

     The Clinton Administration has made securing $18 billion
     from
the US Congress to expand the power and scope of the IMF its top
legislative priority for 1998.  It has even eclipsed the
Administration's attempts to secure "fast-track" negotiating
authority for trade agreements. Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers,
have practically taken residence on the hill to lobby for the
IMF. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Defense
Secretary William Cohen have joined in the chorus, and the IMF's
head, Michel Camdessus, has mounted a charm offensive on
Congress. 

     IF WE DON'T ACT THIS WEEK, THESE MAY BE THE VOICES THAT
     SHAPE
GLOBAL ECONOMIC POLICY FOR YEARS TO COME!

Here's what you can do NOW, by order of priority:

1.   By Wednesday, March 4, fax or mail (so that it arrives on
the hill by March 4) the following letter to ALL MEMBERS OF YOUR
STATE DELEGATION!  Yes, that might mean that in California, we
are asking people to send a letter to all 40 members of your
congressional delegation.  We can fax or email to anyone who
needs it the names and addresses of their state delegation, so
don't hesitate to contact us.  

IMPORTANT POINT!  GET AS MANY PEOPLE AND GROUPS AS POSSIBLE TO
SEND A LETTER (ON THE GROUP"S LETTERHEAD) TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE
STATE LEGISLATION.  WE NEED TO MAKE THE POINT TO MEMBERS THAT
THIS IS A CONSTITUENT ISSUE!

In addition, receiving lots of constituent letters will the IMF
issue on the radar of those who don't yet know about it, and
pressure those who do to do the right thing. 

It is vitally important that we get as many (hopefully thousands)
of letters as possible to Congress by March 4.  Otherwise,
efforts to compromise and play the game will force even
progressive democrats to give the IMF everything it wants.  

2.   Call your congressperson, and tell them to vote NO to any
funding for the IMF.  Attached is a Dear Colleague letter written
by Congressman Kucinich which has the relevant talking points.
Anyone who wants more information as ammunition, just call or
email us here at 50 Years. 

LET US KNOW WHAT ACTIONS YOU UNDERTAKE, SO WE CAN TRACK HOW
SUCCESSFUL IT IS!!!!!   Our friends in Congress are trying their
best to fight the IMF appropriations -- we need to do all we can
to help them. 

______________________________________________________



LETTER TO SEND TO ALL MEMBERS OF YOUR STATE CONGRESSIONAL
DELEGATION

Dear Congressperson;

     On March 5, a bill (HR 3114) to provide $18 billion in funds
to expand the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be presented
for markup in the House Banking Committee.  

     I am asking you to vote NO to any funding for the IMF this
year.  The IMF does not need the money, as it has ample funds at
its disposal to cover current and future bailouts.  Even more
important, IMF policies make economic crises even worse, as it
admitted in the case of Indonesia.  In addition, IMF policies
impose impoverishing conditions on workers and environment-
destroying prescriptions, places enormous social and economic
burdens on women, and excludes citizens from having a voice in
determining their own economic future. 

     Given its destructive role and the fact that it does not
     need
additional funds for current or future bailouts, I urge you again
to vote NO to any taxpayer funding for the IMF.  

                                   Sincerely, 
________________________________________________________

TALKING POINTS

Reasons to Reject the IMF supplemental appropriation 

Dear Colleague, 

As you formulate your position, I ask that you consider the
following reasons to say No to the IMF supplemental
appropriation. 

1) The supplemental appropriation is NOT needed for the Asian
bailout. The bailout of Asian borrowers has already taken place.
The funds for the bailout came from existing IMF funds. 

2) The IMF has ample funds RIGHT NOW at its disposal.  Even after
the loans to Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, the IMF has $45
billion in liquid resources. It also has a credit line of $25
billion through the General Arrangements to Borrow. Furthermore,
it has about $37 billion in gold reserves. And lastly, it can
borrow funds from the private capital market. 

3) The IMF often makes matters worse. The IMF has a record of
making matters worse even as it carries out a bailout. According
to the New York Times, "[The] I.M.F. now admits tactics in
Indonesia deepened the crisis... political paralysis in Indonesia
was compounded by misjudgment at the I.M.F.'s Washington
headquarters. The Wall Street Journal's assessment was more
damning, "Far from stopping the damage, IMF rescue attempts have
become part of the problem. Along with handing out funds, the IMF
keeps peddling bad advice and sending the markets warped signals
that set the stage for -- guess what? -- more bailouts. 

4) The IMF imposes impoverishing conditions on foreign workers.
In exchange for a bailout, the governments of developing
countries must submit to a harsh regimen that impoverishes
workers. In Haiti, for example, the IMF has pressured the Haitian
government to abolish its minimum wage, which is only about $0.20
per hour. 

5) The IMF imposes environment-destroying prescriptions. In
exchange for a bailout, the government of Guyana was forced to
defund its environmental law enforcement, and accelerate
deforestation. Why? To export more logs and earn foreign
exchange, with which to pay back the IMF. 

6)  The IMF only listens to a tough Congress. If you want to
change the way the IMF does business, this supplemental
appropriation would be a setback. The IMF is resistant to change.
In both 1989 and 1992, the IMF ignored the comprehensive reforms
passed by Congress because the appropriation was not conditioned
on IMF reform. Only when Congress made an appropriation payable
only on certain reforms did the IMF make changes. This
supplemental appropriation projects a weak Congress and will not
produce any meaningful reform at the trouble-ridden IMF. 


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