On November 6, President Clinton signed into law the 2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which includes a landmark provision requiring that the U.S. representatives to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and other multilateral institutions (e.g. the Inter-American, African, and Asian Development Banks) oppose any programs containing "user fees" -- the charges that many IMF and World Bank programs insist on for services like education and health care.

While Congress has on previous occasions passed legislation urging that the U.S. advocate for insertion of labor rights and environmental protections into structural adjustment programs, this new legislation represents the first time that it will require follow-up and monitoring of its demands.

Although the U.S. cannot unilaterally mandate policy changes at the multilateral institutions, it is the single most influential voice and has the biggest share of votes. Its policies often signal the direction that the institutions adopt.

The user fee provision began life this summer as an amendment proposed by Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Illinois) and passed by the full House of Representatives. In its original form it would have threatened the cut-off of U.S. funds for the institutions if they did not cease imposing user fee requirements. Negotiations with the Senate forced a scaling back of the bill to simply require that the U.S. oppose such programs, but added the requirement that the Treasury Department report to Congress on the passage of any such programs by the institutions despite U.S. opposition. While the original bill‚s threats would not have taken effect until 2002, the final version‚s provisions became law with the President‚s signature.

Many 50 Years activists joined in the effort to persuade members of Congress to retain strong "user fee" language in the final legislation. In addition, we are grateful to our colleagues at RESULTS, Essential Action, the Quixote Center, and the Center for Economic & Policy Research, who worked with the 50 Years Is Enough Network to craft this provision and see it through passage.

The World Bank responded to the passage of the bill by saying that it was working toward elimination of user fees for health and education. The IMF, however, remained recalcitrant, arguing that no options should be ruled out in economic reforms.

We hope that this action will soon result in the elimination of those charges that prevent so many families in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia from sending their children to school and getting adequate medical care.

Below is the actual legislative language:

USER FEES

Sec. 596. The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director at each international financial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial Institutions Act) and the International Monetary Fund to oppose any loan of these institutions that would require user fees or service charges on poor people for primary education or primary healthcare, including prevention and treatment efforts for HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and infant, child, and maternal well-being, in connection with the institutions' lending programs.

Attached to that is explanatory language, which provides more detail on what Congress demands:

Joint Explanatory Statement of the Conference Committee:
Sec. 596. User Fees

The conference agreement includes a provision which requires the United States Executive Directors at all multilateral development banks and the International Monetary Fund to oppose any loan which requires user fees or service charges on poor people for primary education or primary health care. The managers further agree that user fees should not be imposed or required through Bank or Fund sponsored `community financing,' `cost sharing,' or `cost recovery' mechanisms prepared in conjunctions with loans, structural adjustment schemes or debt relief actions. The managers direct that the Committees on Appropriations be notified within 10 days if any loans, community financing, cost sharing, or cost recovery mechanisms requiring the imposition of user fees are approved by any multilateral development bank or the International Monetary Fund.

The multilateral institutions and the Treasury Department are adept at circumventing demands they don't like.  The Treasury Department, which is charged with following this new law, was opposed to it.  We can  therefore not be confident that its officials will adhere to the law‚s letter and spirit without prompting and monitoring. We intend to provide those motivations.

Those who live in or have contacts in borrowing countries can help us with this monitoring. We need to hear about any new World Bank, IMF, IBD, AfDB, and ADB programs that mandate user fees for education and/or health care.  Please monitor the introduction of such fees and the reason for their imposition.  Send information to us at <wb50years@igc.org> and/or <soren@afgj.org>. Thank you!