Stop Giving Credits to a Delinquent Argentina

Dear Secretary Paulson,

As an American taxpayer, I am troubled by Argentina's recent request for new loans totaling $600 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). U.S. taxpayers should not be rewarding a foreign government that willfully mismanages its finances.

Argentina's 2005 debt restructuring has cost American investors more than $3 billion, leaving Argentina with few borrowing alternatives and leaving taxpayers, like me, to cover the bill. Until the Argentine government honors its debts, the U.S. government must vote against all IDB loan requests.

Argentina has borrowed more than $25 billion from the IDB under 300 loan agreements. Much of that lending has been funded by U.S. taxpayers. The U.S. is a significant financial contributor to the IDB and must hold borrowers accountable for their debts.

According to a recent news report, this new IDB loan would assist Argentina in financing upcoming debt obligations. However, if Argentina had honored its previous debts it likely would not find itself in this precarious position today. Multilateral institutions like the IDB should not reward countries that continually demonstrate an unwillingness to responsibly manage their debt.

The U.S. government should encourage the adoption of sound economic policies. By approving a new $600 million loan, the U.S. government will only be rewarding economic mismanagement and add to the debt burden for future generations of Argentines. Secretary Paulson, I encourage you to vote against future credits for Argentina until the country honors its financial obligations.