,i  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gijb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #i1 #bjbd,mr4 
,garca of ,illinois 7for himself1 ,mrs4 
,beatty1 ,ms4 ,pettersen1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1
 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,ms4 ,williams of        
,georgia1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,ms4 ,pressley1  
and ,ms4 ,jayapal7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,financial ,services  
,a ,,bill  ,to support a review of      
surcharge policy at the ,international  
,monetary ,fund4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,stop ,onerous
 ,surcharges ,act4  #b4 ,united states  
support for a review of surcharge policy
 at the ,international ,monetary ,fund  
7a7 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the  
following3 7#a7 ,the ,international     
,monetary ,fund 7,,imf7 imposes a       
surcharge1 in addition to standard      
interest and service fees1 of #bjj basis
 points on outstanding credit provided  
through its ,general ,resources ,account
 that exceeds #ahg4e percent of the     

,,imf country quota1 and an additional  
#ajj basis points if that credit has    
been outstanding for over #cf or #ea    
months1 depending on the facility4  7#b7
 ,according to the ,,imf1 ,these level  
and time-based surcharges are intended  
to help mitigate credit risk by         
providing members with incentives to    
limit their demand for ,fund assistance 
and encourage timely repurchases while  
at the same time generating income for  
the ,fund to accumulate precautionary   
balances44  7#c7 ,surcharges            
substantially increase the cost of      
borrowing from the ,,imf1 constituting1 
on average1 an estimated #ci percent of 
conventional charges paid by affected   
countries in the past #e years4 ,over   
the next #e years1 surcharges will make 
up an estimated #ci percent of          
,ecuador's nonprincipal payments on its 
,,imf lending program1 and #bd percent  
of ,egypt's4  7#d7 ,despite ,russia's   
illegal invasion1 ,ukraine remains one  
of the countries most heavily burdened  

by surcharges4 ,from #bjbd to #bjbh1    
,ukraine is expected to pay the ,,imf   
approximately #a1ejj1jjj1jjj in         
surcharges alone4  7#e7 ,the ,james ,m4 
,inhofe ,national ,defense              
,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year   
#bjbc 7,public ,law #aag-bfc71 which    
became law on ,december #bc1 #bjbb1     
included language derived from the      
,ukraine ,comprehensive ,debt ,payment  
,relief ,act of #bjbb4 ,the ,ukraine    
,comprehensive ,debt ,payment ,relief   
,act of #bjbb requires the ,department  
of ,treasury to make efforts to secure  
debt relief for ,ukraine1 and was passed
 by the ,house of ,representatives on   
,may #aa1 #bjbb1 with overwhelming      
bipartisan support4  7#f7 ,as a result  
of the war in ,ukraine and other        
factors1 in ,january #bjbd1 the ,world  
,bank forecast that the world would     
experience the worst #e-year period of  
growth in #cj years4 ,the external      
public debt of developing economies is  
at record levels1 and the ,world ,bank1 

,,imf1 and ,united ,nations have all    
warned of coming defaults and a         
potential global debt crisis4 ,due to   
conflict1 economic conditions1 and      
environmental factors1 the ,world ,food 
,program estimates that #ghc1jjj1jjj    
people are facing extreme hunger1 and   
more than #ccc1jjj1jjj people are facing
 acute levels of food insecurity4  7#g7 
,official data shows that the number of 
countries paying surcharges to the ,,imf
 has nearly tripled since #bjai1 and    
many more countries are estimated to    
have debt burdens near the threshold4   
7#h7 ,in a #bjbb statement1 dozens of   
former heads of state and government    
from across the political spectrum1     
including ,united ,states allies such as
 the ,united ,kingdom and ,ukraine1 have
 called for the immediate suspension of 
,,imf surcharges4  7#i7 ,an ,april #bjbb
 brief from the ,united ,nations ,global
 ,crisis ,response ,group on ,food1     
,energy1 and ,finance on the impacts of 
the war in ,ukraine on developing       

countries called for the immediate      
suspension of surcharge payments for a  
minimum of #b years1 because surcharges 
do not make sense during a global crisis
 since the need for more financing does 
not stem from national conditions but   
from the global economy shock4  7#aj7   
,in ,october #bjbc1 ,international      
,monetary and ,financial ,committee     
,chair ,nadia ,calvio stated that the   
,fund will consider a review of         
surcharge policies4  7#aa7 ,according to
 ,deputy ,under ,secretary for          
,international ,finance ,brent ,neiman1 
,china became the world's largest       
official creditor in #bjag1 surpassing  
the claims of the ,world ,bank1 ,,imf1  
and all ,paris ,club official creditors 
combined44 ,by dramatically increasing  
the cost of borrowing from the ,,imf1   
surcharges may incentivize developing   
nations to seek financing from          
alternative sources like ,china4  7b7   
,review of surcharge policy at the      
,international ,monetary ,fund ,the     

,secretary of the ,treasury shall       
instruct the ,united ,states ,executive 
,director at the ,international         
,monetary ,fund 7,,imf7 to use the voice
 and vote of the ,united ,states to--   
7#a7 initiate an immediate review by the
 ,,imf of its surcharge policy1 to be   
completed1 and its results and          
underlying data published1 within #cfe  
days2 and  7#b7 suspend and waive       
surcharge payments during the pendency  
of the review4  7c7 ,components of the  
review of surcharge policy ,the review  
referred to in subsection 7b7 shall     
include the following3 7#a7 ,a          
borrower-by-borrower analysis of        
surcharges in terms of cost and as a    
percentage of national spending on debt 
service on ,,imf loans1 food security1  
health1 and education for the #e-year   
period beginning ,january #a1 #bjah4    
7#b7 ,evaluation of the policy's        
effectiveness at achieving its goals    
of-- 7,a7 disincentivizing large and    
prolonged reliance on ,,imf credit2     

7,b7 mitigating the credit risks taken  
by the ,,imf2  7,c7 improving borrower  
balance of payments and debt            
sustainability1 particularly during     
periods of contraction1 unrest1 public  
health emergency1 high interest rates1  
and high global prices of commodities2  
and  7,d7 promoting fiscally responsible
 policy reforms4  7#c7 ,evaluation of   
the policy's potential unintended       
consequences of-- 7,a7 incentivizing    
borrowers to seek opaque and potentially
 predatory bilateral loans2 and  7,b7   
hindering the ability of borrowers to   
repay private creditors and access the  
private credit market4  7#d7            
,recommendations for-- 7,a7 identifying 
alternative sources of funding for the  
,,imf's precautionary balances that     
prioritize stable funding sources and   
equitable burden-sharing among ,,imf    
members2 and  7,b7 determining whether  
the ,fund should maintain1 reform1      
temporarily suspend1 or eliminate the   
use of surcharges4  7#e7 ,extensive     

consultation with relevant experts1     
particularly those from countries that  
are currently paying or have recently   
paid surcharges4 ,these experts should  
include government officials responsible
 for overseeing economic development1   
fiscal policy1 health care and other    
social services1 and defense1 as well as
 experts in global financial policy1    
global risk analysts1 academics1 and    
civil society representatives4