GOP leader concerned by escalating tax dollars for EU bailout

House Republican Conference vice chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) on Monday said she was extremely troubled by American taxpayers paying as much as $100 billion to help end a financial crisis in Europe.

Her concern stems from a June 4 statement by International Monetary Fund official Youssef Boutros-Ghali, who said IMF reserves would have to rise "very significantly" in the wake of the group committing $335 billion to bail out Greece as well as other European Union countries. 

"This should give pause to Treasury Secretary Geithner and others who boasted that the IMF's bailout bonanza wouldn't cost U.S. taxpayers a dime," the congresswoman said in prepared remarks. "In truth, the cost to U.S. taxpayers goes up every few weeks. After the Greek bailout, it stood at about $7 billion; after the EU bailout, it stood at about $60 billion. Now, based on Mr. Boustros-Ghali's comments, we're talking at possibly $100 billion or more. This has got to stop." 

On June 4, Boutros-Ghali said, "If we are going to start including funds made available to Europe, then the IMF is not properly resourced." 

Officials Monday are reportedly hammering out the final details of a $527 billion loan package to financially strapped European nations. The EU and the IMF have committed nearly $1 trillion to help these countries meet their debt obligations.  

However, trouble in the EU is fueling concerns that the U.S. economy is headed for a double-dip recession. 

McMorris Rodgers and House Republican Conference chair Mike Pence (Ind.) recently introduced nonbinding legislation that would force members to vote on whether they support the EU bailout. 

"Every member of Congress should go on record, either 'yay' or 'nay,' on whether or not U.S. tax dollars should go to a Euro-TARP," McMorris Rodgers said. "Should Congress approve our resolution, it will send a powerful signal to the Obama administration that we cannot take this too-big-to-fail philosophy to a global level."