Washington - Congress voted yesterday to hand over $18 billion to the International Monetary Fund, ensuring the lending agency is flush with cash to bail out the next wave of crisis-hit economies.
The final vote, by the Republican-led Senate, capped a year of heated congressional debate over IMF funding, depleted by multi-billion dollar rescue loans for Russia and three Asian states.
The vote was a major victory for the White House over the IMF's congressional opponents, wary of the institution's lending policies and secretive ways.