Dr. Coburn Condemns World Bank's Continued Lack of Transparency in Malaria Programs

Senator Coburn sent a letter (click here for a copy) to Mr. Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, expressing his disappointment in the World Bank's continued lack of transparency regarding the multilateral aid organization's past and present malaria programs, which were publicly critiqued in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the Lancet, in April 2006. The Bank has so far declined to brief bipartisan, bicameral Congressional staff on the program since the publication of the Lancet article. Congress is expected to consider the renewal of U.S. contributions to the Bank's IDA-14 Replenishment in the 110th Congress. The U.S. remains the largest contributor to the IDA.  For FY2007, President Bush has requested $950 million to fulfill the second payment toward the U.S. three-year, $2.85 billion commitment to the fourteenth replenishment of IDA, representing  around 59% of the President's FY2007 budget request for U.S. contributions to the multilateral development banks.

On June 9, 2006, the House passed the FY2007 Foreign Operations appropriations bill, which appropriated the full $950 million request.  However, the full Senate did not take up the Foreign Operations appropriations bill prior to the adjournment of the 109th Congress on December 9, 2006. FY2007 IDA appropriations (and other Foreign Operations programs) are currently operating under the terms of a continuing appropriations resolution which provides funding at the FY2006 level or the House-passed FY2007 level, whichever is less. The continuing appropriations resolution expires on February 15, 2007.

Related Oversight Action: January 31, 2007 - Dr. Coburn calls on Treasury to respond to questions on World Bank oversight

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