Rep. Frank Wolf (VA), ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), ranking Republican on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ambassador John Danilovich, chief executive officer of the MCC, that funding should be withheld "until it is adequately demonstrated that the Nicaraguan government is committed to demonstrating progress in ruling justly, investing in people and economic freedom."

"The United States should always seek to reward democracy and good governance, not implicitly condone authoritarian leaders by turning a blind eye to repression and corruption," they wrote in response to questionable practices during recent elections in Nicaragua.