Hill, Huizenga, Barr unveil Special Drawing Rights Oversight Act

U.S. Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), and Andy Barr (R-KY) on March 3 introduced legislation to ensure a proper check on the executive branch and greater accountability regarding special drawing rights.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines and maintains special drawing rights (SDR), which are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets and units of account for the IMF. While not a currency per se, SDRs represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged.

Rep. Hill sponsored the Special Drawing Rights Oversight Act, H.R.1568, with cosponsors Reps. Huizenga and Barr to amend current law and strengthen congressional oversight regarding allocations of SDRs by the IMF and to prohibit such allocations for perpetrators of genocide and state sponsors of terrorism without congressional authorization, according to the congressional record.

“Circumventing Congress to implement bad policies was a hallmark of the Obama administration’s foreign policy and it is alarming that the Biden administration is mirroring that policy,” Rep. Hill said. “Under President Biden’s plan, China, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and Syria could receive nearly $70 billion from the IMF. The Special Drawing Rights Oversight Act will help ensure that rogue countries cannot access this funding and that the most vulnerable countries get the assistance they need.”

If enacted, H.R. 1568 would provide greater oversight of an SDR allocation by limiting unilateral allocations to once every 10 years; restricting the size of allocations to an amount corresponding to 25 percent of U.S. quota in the IMF, rather than 100 percent under current law; and require congressional consultations 180 days prior to consenting to an allocation, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Hill’s office.

“International financial institutions need more accountability and should not serve as a slush fund for state sponsors or terrorism, countries complicit in genocide or other malign actors,” said Rep. Barr. “This bill is essential to ensure appropriate congressional oversight of SDRs and their responsible allocation.”

Rep. Huizenga said that by pursuing an SDR allocation, the Biden administration is pushing for the IMF to give away billions of dollars to rogue nations around the globe.

“The notion that Democrats are considering sending over $41 billion to the Chinese Communist Party, more than $17.5 billion to Vladimir Putin and his cronies, and nearly $5 billion to an Iranian regime that is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism speaks volumes about their misguided priorities,” Rep. Huizenga said. “American taxpayer dollars should not be used to prop up these brutal and adversarial nations.”