US Senate approves measure targeting IMF aid

(WASHINGTON) - The US Senate on Monday easily approved a measure aimed at blocking International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid packages like the one for Greece absent a guarantee that the money will be repaid.

Lawmakers voted 94-0 to approve the measure, crafted by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, attaching it to broad legislation to overhaul financial industry rules in the wake of the 2008 global economic meltdown.

The amendment calls for President Barack Obama's administration to measure any IMF aid package to a country whose public debt exceeds its annual gross domestic product in order to certify that the loan will be repaid.

If the administration were unable to make such a certification, it would be directed to oppose the assistance and vote against it at the IMF.

"Greece is going to get 40 billion dollars in loans from the IMF, out of which seven billion dollars is attributable to the contributions of the American taxpayer. They shouldn't have to do that unless we have an assurance that it will be paid back," Cornyn said shortly before the vote.

Cornyn pointed to ballooning US deficits, and national debt, and warned: "If we're not careful, America will turn into Greece, and need a bailout, and there won't be anybody there to bail us out, including the American taxpayer."

If the Senate passes the overhaul legislation, Cornyn's measure would still need to survive a House-Senate "conference" to reconcile their rival versions of the bill before it can go to Obama to be signed into law.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair John Kerry, a Democrat, has raised concerns that the regulation could harm some of the world's poorest countries.

The IMF's executive board on May 9 approved a record 30-billion-euro loan for Greece, whose debt woes have shaken global financial markets.

The IMF loan is part of a larger 110-billion-euro package offered in conjunction with 15 eurozone nations in exchange for austerity measures that sparked violent street protests in Athens.