Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation being considered here on the House floor, the Russia and Belarus SDR Exchange Prohibition Act, H.R. 6899. This legislation would prohibit the United States from exchanging any Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, with Russia or Belarus. These SDRs are reserve assets issued by the International Monetary Fund, the IMF. This bill would also require the Secretary of the Treasury to work with other IMF member countries to prevent them from doing the same. Now, let's be blunt. We should be especially concerned by Russia's ability to exchange its SDRs for Chinese renminbi or pledge their SDRs for a loan that isn't transparent to the world in support of Russia's illegal invasion by a country such as China, using those reserve assets. {time} 1700 This is a particular risk, as Moscow is increasingly forced to potentially turn to China in response to global sanctions imposed on the nation of Russia and its central bank. Mr. Speaker, the world is watching, and we must send a message that the United States is not standing idly by and allowing SDR assets to be used to finance the destruction of Ukraine. Russia alone owns over $25 billion of these IMF reserve assets, and these IMF assets represent unconditional liquidity and a source of financing for the Kremlin.…”