US legislators try to cut funding to IFIs (Bretton Woods Project)

US legislators try to cut funding to IFIs

In late July, a US House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee, now controlled by the Republican party, moved to slash funding to the World Bank and other multilateral institutions. The draft legislation, which must first be approved by the full appropriations committee and then agreed by the US Senate, allocates only $1.6 billion for multilateral assistance, a reduction of $729 million from last year and $2.1 billion below the request of US president Barack Obama. In addition, the bill eliminates funding for the Bank-housed Clean Technology Fund and Strategic Climate Fund (see Update 76), and any funding for the requested general capital increases for multilateral development banks (see Update 70). The legislators also sought to defund the increased US commitment to lend to the IMF under the New Arrangements to Borrow (see Update 65).

Bank voting remains unbalanced Rich countries retain almost 60% voting power News|Bretton Woods Project|16 April 2010|update 70|url
Small shifts in voting power at the World Bank are expected to be formally agreed at April's spring meetings, leaving high-income countries holding almost 60 per cent of the vote, with further reform put off until 2015. Meanwhile the Bank is expected to receive a smaller capital increase than it sought, which could push lending back to pre-crisis levels. read article...
US cuts funding to World Bank Climate Fund News|Bretton Woods Project|14 June 2011|update 76|url
The Clean Technology Fund (CTF), one of the controversial Bank-housed Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), was a victim of the 2011 US budget deal, which passed in April. read article...