GOP wants to take back $100b IMF bailout fund

FILE – In this Dec. 31, 2001 file photo, blue lights reminiscent of the European flag and euro signs are projected on the Pont Neuf bridge over the Seine River in Paris, a few hours before midnight when euro notes and coins will replace national currencies as legal tender in 12 of the 15 European Union countries. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)

When California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi was the Speaker of the House in 2009, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats authorized $100 billion in spending as a line of credit for the International Monetary Fund to be used in times of emergency — funds that could now be used to bail out European banks.
As the Eurozone takes a turn for the worse and chatter heats up about more European Union and IMF bailouts across the continent, Republicans in Congress are pushing to rescind the $100 billion set-aside.
That $100 billion is an addition to the $64.4 billion the U.S. Treasury will provide in quotas to the IMF this year. That new funding has not been formally appropriated, but the IMF could request the money whenever it pleases.