{
  "id": "RL30132",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30132",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105358,
      "date": "1999-05-28",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:44:50.757941",
      "title": "International Monetary Fund (IMF) Reform: Past Solutions, Current Proposals",
      "summary": "Major changes in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the international monetary system\nhave\nbeen reflected in amendments to the IMF's Articles of Agreement, its \"constitution.\" Changes to\nthe IMF's Articles require an 85% majority of the voting power, giving the United States, with\n17.56% of the vote, a veto. Under the Bretton Woods Agreement Act (P. L. 79-171, 22 U.S.C.  286),\nany proposed changes to the IMF's Articles require congressional approval. Thus, by extension, the\nU.S. Congress has a veto power over changes to the IMF's Articles. Beyond the specific issues of\namending the IMF's Articles, legislation enacted by the 105th Congress laid the groundwork for a\nmuch more active oversight of the IMF, its role, and any proposed changes in the \"architecture\" of\nthe international monetary system. Finally, some proposals that do not involve amending the IMF's\nArticles might also be expressed in legislation.\n The IMF's Articles have been amended three times and, appropriately, the changes have been\ndesignated the First, Second, and Third Amendments. The First Amendment created the \"Special\nDrawing Right\" (SDR), an international reserve asset issued by the IMF. The Second Amendment\nwas the first and, so far, only comprehensive rewrite of the IMF's Articles of Agreement. It\nlegitimized the floating exchange rate system that replaced the \"fixed\" exchange rate Bretton Woods\nsystem in the early 1970s. The Third Amendment, approved in 1992, addressed the problem of a\nbuild-up of arrears that were owed by the poorer countries and that threatened the IMF's own\nliquidity.\n The period 1997-1999 has been one of enormous economic and financial turmoil. An\nexamination of the history of amendments to the IMF's charter, however, shows much that is\nfamiliar, including: increased levels of cross-border capital flows, increased economic integration,\nincreased market-pricing of exchange rates, the preeminence of the market over the regulator, and\nfinancial innovation.\n The significant difference is the extent to which emerging market countries, transitional\neconomies, and the poorer less developed countries have become a part of the global economy. This\nhas been abetted by major advances in communications technology. These changes turned a\nfinancial crisis in Thailand into a global crisis.\n A number of proposals are emerging that are intended to reform the IMF and the \"architecture\"\nof the international monetary system. A proposed Fourth Amendment, like the Third Amendment,\nreflects the number of transitional and poor countries that form the IMF's membership and loan base. \nThe Fourth Amendment would provide additional liquidity to some 39 member countries by\npermitting a targeted allocation of SDRs. This would require congressional approval, but not U.S.\nBudgetary funding. Finally, a controversial proposal to amend the IMF's Articles of Agreement to\nallow it to oversee the orderly liberalization of capital accounts has emerged. Agreement on the text,\nhowever, has not been reached.\n This report will not be updated.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL30132",
          "sha1": "a048dea75f751568654512b3d1a291833bb659bd",
          "filename": "files/19990528_RL30132_a048dea75f751568654512b3d1a291833bb659bd.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/19990528_RL30132_a048dea75f751568654512b3d1a291833bb659bd.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Industry and Trade"
  ]
}