U.S. support of Asia's economy faces Congress<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Reuters): The Clinton administration's support of
\ninternational efforts to bail out Asia's ravaged economies will
\nface a major test in Congress later this month, a senior
\nRepublican senator predicted on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"I think that Congress will have, as we should have, some very
\nreal reservations and will want to ask some probing questions,\"
\nSen. Alfonse D'Amato said in a television interview.<\/p>\n
D'Amato, a New York Republican who heads the Senate Banking
\nCommittee, said his panel would investigate the issue immediately
\nafter Congress reconvenes on Jan. 26.<\/p>\n
\"We are going to hold hearings on this, and I have some very
\nserious reservations about the current U.S. policy and the
\nreadiness with which we are providing funds to bail out some very
\nundisciplined investors ...\" he said on the CNN program Evans &
\nNovak.<\/p>\n
Pending before Congress is legislation that would make an
\nextra $3.5 billion available to the International Monetary Fund
\nfor emergency lending, as well as $15 billion to cover the U.S.
\nshare of a quota increase to replenish IMF accounts depleted by
\nmultibillion-dollar loans to South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The IMF put together the bailouts over the past six months
\nafter the July 2 crash of the Thai baht currency sent shock waves
\nthrough Southeast Asian economies. The United States and other
\nrich countries have agreed to contribute billions of dollars to
\nthe rescue efforts.<\/p>\n
But the Clinton administration's decision to take part has
\ndrawn heavy fire from some lawmakers, who argue that U.S.
\ntaxpayers should not be forced to prop up countries responsible
\nfor their own financial problems.<\/p>\n
D'Amato objected to what he called \"bailing out undisciplined
\nprivate-sector corporations with taxpayers' money\" and said his
\ncommittee wanted to know what was being done to ensure that U.S.
\nfunds were not \"feeding speculators and others who have taken
\nadvantage of the situation.\"<\/p>\n
\"I don't think that we can just willy-nilly make monies
\navailable without there being some very real discipline and
\nguarantees that these monies are not following other money down
\nthe proverbial chute,\" he said.<\/p>\n
D'Amato suggested that in some cases it could be against the
\nU.S. national interest to join rescue efforts, but did not say
\nwhat those cases might be.<\/p>\n
\"We're talking about some situations where I don't believe
\nthat the IMF has sufficient funding, nor can we bring it up to
\nbail some of these countries out, nor do I think that it's our
\nobligation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Conservative Sen. Lauch Faircloth, a vocal critic of the IMF-
\nled bailouts in Asia, has called a meeting of Republican staffers
\non Capitol Hill on Wednesday to rally support against the
\nadministration's IMF funding requests.<\/p>\n
Aides and speakers scheduled to attend the closed-door session
\nsaid they expected the briefing to draw dozens of Republican
\nstaff members. Faircloth, a North Carolina Republican, and his
\ncolleagues will be briefed by experts about the IMF and economic
\ndevelopments in Asia.<\/p>\n
Analysts expect a bitter struggle in the Republican-led
\nCongress over the legislation to replenish the IMF's coffers.<\/p>\n
\"This is not just a Republican issue,\" said Ian Vasquez of the
\nCato Institute. \"This is an issue that Democrats are going to be
\nsympathetic about.\"<\/p>",
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