A bill to strengthen transparency over efforts by the Department of the Treasury to use the Exchange Stabilization Fund to aid foreign countries without prior notification to Congress.

Jeanne Shaheen

Democrat · NH · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Chuck Grassley (R-IA)Original· 2026-05-21

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

2026-05-21

Source: Congress.gov

The Treasury Department currently has broad authority to use a special fund called the Exchange Stabilization Fund to provide financial assistance to foreign countries, sometimes without telling Congress first. This bill would require the Treasury Department to notify Congress before using this fund to help other nations, making the process more transparent and giving lawmakers a chance to review these decisions. The change would affect how the federal government conducts international financial assistance and ensure Congress has oversight over these spending decisions.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4617 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4617 To strengthen transparency over efforts by the Department of the Treasury to use the Exchange Stabilization Fund to aid foreign countries without prior notification to Congress. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 21, 2026 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To strengthen transparency over efforts by the Department of the Treasury to use the Exchange Stabilization Fund to aid foreign countries without prior notification to Congress. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Exchange Stabilization Fund Transparency Act''. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means-- (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives. (2) Exchange stabilization fund.--The term ``Exchange Stabilization Fund'' means the stabilization fund established under section 5302(a) of title 31, United States Code. (3) Foreign entity.--The term ``foreign entity'' means an entity that is not organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States. (4) Government of a foreign country.--The term ``government of a foreign country''-- (A) means-- (i) any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of that government; and (ii) any entity owned or controlled by that government; and (B) includes a central bank of the foreign country. SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON USE OF EXCHANGE STABILIZATION FUND TO AID FOREIGN COUNTRIES. (a) Notification Required.--Not less than 24 hours before the Secretary of the Treasury commits to providing assistance to a foreign entity or the government of a foreign country using the Exchange Stabilization Fund, including through the establishment of currency swap lines, the purchase of local currency or sovereign debt of a foreign country, or the extension of any credit instrument, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State as appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a notification of the intention to provide that assistance. (b) Elements.--A notification submitted to the appropriate committees of Congress under subsection (a) with respect to assistance to be provided to a foreign entity or the government of a foreign country shall, to the extent such information is available, include-- (1) a detailed description of the nature, amount, duration, and specific terms of the assistance; (2) a detailed description of why providing the assistance advances the national interests of the United States, including-- (A) an explanation of whether the economy of the foreign country is important to the United States or global economy or financial system and, if so, why; and (B) an assessment of the impact of not providing the assistance; (3) a detailed description of engagement the United States Government has undertaken as of the date of the notification, or is planning to undertake, with the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions, the private sector, and the governments of countries that are partners of the United States to provide financial assistance to the foreign country; (4) any risk assessment for the foreign country prepared by agencies of the United States Government relating to the provision of the assistance and the associated interest premium and an explanation of how the risk…

assessment affected the decision to use the Exchange Stabilization Fund; (5) an assessment of the impact that providing the assistance will have on reserves within the Exchange Stabilization Fund, including on reserves of United States dollars, foreign currencies, and Special Drawing Rights; (6) a statement of any conditions that the United States Government is imposing on use of the assistance with respect to-- (A) increasing the likelihood of repayment; and (B) the fiscal or economic policies of the foreign country; (7) an explanation for why the conditions described in paragraph (6) were imposed or, if no such conditions were imposed, an explanation for why not; (8) an assessment of the expected repayment to the United States of the assistance and the likelihood that the government of the foreign country will default on its international obligations following the provision of the assistance; (9) a timeline agreed to for repayment of the assistance, if applicable; (10) a description of any other safeguards put in place to protect United States taxpayer resources; and (11) if any information required by paragraphs (1) through (10) to be included in the notification is unavailable at the time of the submission of the notification, an estimate, not to exceed 14 days, of when that information will be provided to the appropriate committees of Congress. (c) Notification Update.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide to the appropriate committees of Congress in writing any information relating to providing assistance described in subsection (a) that was not available at the time the Secretary submitted the notification required by that subsection on the earlier of-- (1) the date that is 14 days after the Secretary commits to using the Exchange Stabilization Fund to provide the assistance; or (2) the first date on which the Secretary has used at least $500,000,000 from the Exchange Stabilization Fund to provide the assistance. (d) Form of Notification.--The information required by subsections (b) and (c) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex as necessary to protect sensitive information if an explanation is provided for why the information is required to be classified. (e) Briefing Required.--Not later than 7 days after the Secretary of the Treasury commits to using the Exchange Stabilization Fund to provide assistance described in subsection (a) or otherwise significantly intervenes in international financial markets, including through the substantial purchase of foreign currency, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State as appropriate, shall provide a briefing to the appropriate committees of Congress. (f) Retroactive Transparency.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State as appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes, for each instance in which assistance described in subsection (a) was provided to a foreign entity or the government of a foreign country during the 4-year period preceding such date of enactment-- (1) all of the information required, by paragraphs (1) through (10) of subsection (b), to be included in a notification submitted under subsection (a); (2) a copy of any and all written agreements between the United States and the foreign entity or the government of the foreign country, as the case may be, related to the assistance; (3) a description of the status of the assistance, including whether the assistance is ongoing or has terminated; and (4) a determination of whether additional assistance using the Exchange Stabilization Fund is likely to be required by the foreign entity or the government of the foreign country, as the case may be, in the 2-year period following such date of enactment. SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF EXISTING EXCHANGE STABILIZATION FUND DISCLOSURE. Any information provided to a committee of Congress under section 5302(c)(1) of title 31, United States Code, relating to an agreement or transaction with a foreign entity or the government of a foreign country shall also be provided to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. <all>

• SRES754A resolution reaffirming congressional support for the Taiwan Relations Act and longstanding bipartisan Taiwan policy.
  Referred to Committee · 2026-05-21
• S4614Stars and Stripes Editorial Independence Act of 2026
  Referred to Committee · 2026-05-20
• S4612SCREEN for Type 1 Diabetes Act of 2026
  Referred to Committee · 2026-05-20
• S4613Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act of 2026
  Referred to Committee · 2026-05-20