Congress Should Care About the IMF

The elephantine spending bill just passed by the U.S. Congress includes, among its numberless provisions, a measure that's shamefully overdue. Since 2010, Washington's paralysis has blocked badly needed changes at the International Monetary Fund. The bill will let them go forward.

This is good news. It serves U.S. as well as global interests. But the protracted delay draws attention to a deeper problem, still unresolved: Rather than lead the IMF in its vital work, the U.S. continues to settle for the role of glum bystander.