Support for a Robust Global Response to the COVID–19 Pandemic (Amendment to HR 4373)
US Representative Pramila Jayapal’s (WA-07) amendment to HR 4373 would instruct the US representative to the IMF to support issuing at least 1.542 trillion SDR.
The amendment was introduced on July 27, 2021 and approved by the House of Representatives as part of the House State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill (see the bill text and press release).
The amendment also requires:
Debt Relief. Instructs US representatives to the international financial institutions to support a suspension of debt payments to those institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Protection of Public Health Spending. Instructs US representatives to the international financial institutions to oppose programs that undermine countries’ ability to respond to COVID-19, such as those that encourage cuts to public health spending.
SDR Transfers. Instructs US representatives to the international financial institutions to approve transfers of SDRs from wealthier member countries to poorer ones.
Reactions from Civil Society
“As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc in Latin America, South Asia and Africa, we need a global response to the global economic crisis. A major allocation of Special Drawing Rights by the IMF is a critical complement to more debt relief and more aid.”
— Didier Jacobs, Oxfam America
“This bill is concrete amid a crisis, helpful for poor countries and costless for the US taxpayer; at least $700 billion would quickly reach low- and middle-income countries to fight the pandemic and its economic consequences.”
— Andrés Arauz, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Economic and Policy Research
“Congress must act swiftly and decisively to help stop the spread of COVID-19 around the world, and to allow countries to save people's lives from poverty, hunger and the coronavirus. The beauty of Special Drawing Rights, an emergency financial resource, is that they are not loans to the governments, and cost the United States nothing. The Support for Global Financial Institution Pandemic Response Act, if enacted, will provide $700 billion worth of assets to 155 low-and-middle-income countries — without costing American taxpayers a single penny. We applaud Senators Durbin, Merkley, Reed, Cardin, and Sanders for their leadership and look forward to seeing additional senators add their support.”
— Isaac Evans-Frantz, Action Corps Director
“Now more than ever, debt means death. Maryknoll missioners see this in poor countries like Kenya and Ecuador where governments spend more on servicing debt than on health care. As the coronavirus hits, people fear unemployment and hunger as much as getting sick. If we don’t do what we can to shore up the global economy, we could see millions of people around the world destitute and dying. We will all suffer because our economies are connected and this virus knows no borders. The Support for Global Financial Institution Pandemic Response Act recognizes these facts and that Special Drawing Rights were created for this kind of emergency. Just as the United States supported the IMF allocating SDRs in the financial crisis in 2009, it should support it now.”