August 10, 2010 Timothy F. Geithner
Secretary, Department of the Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20220 Re: IMF and Jamaican Teachers Association Dear Secretary Geithner: The National Education Association (NEA) would like to express our concern about reports that pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is causing violations of fairly negotiated agreements between Jamaican Teachers Association and the Government of Jamaica. We respectfully request that you look into this matter. The Brown amendment included in the Supplemental Appropriations bill, which also contained the United States’ IMF funding request, requires the U.S. director at the IMF to oppose any loans that fail to exempt health, education and other safety nets from budget caps. As the major shareholder and the only party with veto power at the IMF, the United States is in a critical position to exercise leadership in its voting at the IMF Executive Board. The Brown Amendment is essential to defend countries’ right to invest in their public services and stimulate their economies. Especially in a time of recession, it is vitally important that the United States make use of the Brown Amendment by explicitly instructing our IMF director to oppose any and all IMF programs that do not exempt health, education and other safety nets from budget caps. We request your assistance in determining how the United States’ representative voted on the recent IMF agreement with Jamaica and in ensuring that the tenets of the Brown Amendment inform all of our actions with the IMF. Thank you for your assistance in this important matter. Sincerely, Dennis Van Roekel, President The National Education Association of the United States cc: Executive Directors, International Monetary Fund Senator Sherrod Brown Bill Ratteree, International Labor Organization Fred Van Leeuwen, General Secretary, Education International Peter Waldorff, Public Services International Adolph Cameron, General Secretary, Jamaican Teachers Association Michael Stewart, President, Jamaican Teachers Association Assibi Napoe, Chair, Global Campaign for Education 1201 16th St., N.W. | Washington, DC 20036 | Phone: (202) 833-4000 Dennis Van Roekel President Lily Eskelsen Vice President Rebecca S. Pringle Secretary-Treasurer John I. Wilson Executive Director -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
