GOP vice chair criticizes increased bailout to Europe

House Republican conference vice chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) on Monday said she strongly opposed the expanded relief package to Europe being discussed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. 

What was originally a $145 billion loan to Greece to better handle its debt as grown into a bailout costing approximately $1 trillion as more EU countries look vulnerable to default.  The congresswoman argues that the U.S. will be responsible for approximately one third of that reserve, or $321 billion, since it is IMF's main contributor.

"The Obama Administration should publicly oppose this 'Global TARP' and work with other members of the IMF to defeat it," McMorris Rodgers said in prepared remarks, adding, "By aiding an European bailout, we are making it less likely that our friends in Europe will pass the fiscal reforms that are necessary for long-term growth."

Over the weekend, Vice President Joseph Biden pledged the U.S. would help Europe to survive the economic crisis. 

Last month, McMorris Rodgers stated that a bailout to Greece would "create a moral hazard that gets America more involved in the gathering storm of European bailouts."