WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Thursday that debt relief for poor and developing countries would be hampered without new funding, while $2.7 billion in current unmet U.S. commitments to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other institutions would grow.
Yellen, in prepared remarks to a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee, said that the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for poor countries and a new debt restructuring ‘Common Framework’ both need funding from Congress.
“Without new funding, the United States could be forced to delay the multilateral debt process under the Common Framework and charge much higher interest rates on DSSI debt service suspensions,” Yellen said.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
