SAE U.S.A - World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE)

Because H.R.5299/2010 is against America's interests, unfair to an ally (Greece) and misleading in words and meaning, we ask you to appeal to all the Republican House Representatives in your district to oppose it now and vote against it if it is approved by the Committee on Financial Services.

 A group of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives is proposing H.R. 5299 (111th Congress, 2010) in order to prohibit United States loans to the International Monetary Fund to be used to provide financing for member states of the European Union.Such a bill, if enacted, would damage America’s relations with the European Union, and especially with Greece which is the country presently dealing with the IMF because of the existing financial crisis.

As Americans of Hellenic heritage it is important for us to inform all Republican congressmen in congressional districts where we live about our opinion on this issue and the problems such a law would create. It is important to inform other Republican congressmen to vote against H.R. 5299.

In GOP’s Conference Blog, it is stated that Americans “... are fed up with taxpayer-funded bailouts and deserve to know we are bailing out Greece and possibly other European countries... This legislation would require that countries like Greece cut spending and put their own fiscal house in order, instead of looking to the United States for a bailout.”

It should be pointed out that, although the U.S. is a major contributor to the International Monetary Fund, other countries also finance IMF, that Greece has already cut spending and has announced very strict financial measures to deal with the crisis, and that the IMF provides to Greece a loan with interest, not a bailout grant.

H.R. 5299/2010 is now in the Committee on Financial Services, and has been submitted by U.S. Representatives Mike Pence (R- IN, 6th dist.); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA, 5th); Jerry Lewis (R-CA, 41st); Jeb Hensarling (R-TX, 5th) and Kay Granger (R-TX, 12th) . A list of GOP cosponsors of H.R. 5299/2010 is attached, but you should appeal to all your Republican U.S. House Representatives, cosponsors or not, to defeat H.R. 5299.