Through IMF, U.S. Taxpayers Contribute to
Greek Bailouts Costing $228 Billion

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, released the following statement today after global leaders negotiated a second bailout of Greece, bringing the total cost of the Greek bailout to $228 billion.  Considering that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is heavily involved in the bailout – and U.S. taxpayers are the largest contributors to the IMF – scarce U.S. funds will be used to bail out the failed socialist policies of a wealthy country.

“At a time when President Obama is seeking to raise the U.S. debt limit by $2.4 trillion and increase the debt burden of every American family by $20,000, we should not be funneling billions of dollars to bail out Greece, Portugal, Spain, and other wealthy European countries.  The European Union was set up to be an economic competitor of the United States, and therefore, any bailout funds should come from the EU, not the US.  We cannot take the ‘too big to fail’ philosophy to a global level.  The only thing ‘too big to fail’ is America itself.” 

On June 23, 2011, Rep. McMorris Rodgers and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced legislation that would rescind the IMF’s authority to spend up to $108 billion of US taxpayer money that is currently available to fund these disastrous bailouts.  

According to the Washington Post, “Many economists have argued that [Greece] is insolvent and that programs to merely lend it more money without somehow cutting the overall debt are destined to fail.”  America is facing a similar situation.

Last year, the EU and the IMF orchestrated a $158 billion bailout of Greece.  The total cost of the Greek bailouts has now risen to 69% of Greece’s economy.  Ireland and Portugal have also received bailouts topping the $100 billion mark and many fear Spain and Italy are next.

A full compilation of the Congresswoman’s work on this issue can be found here.