ABSTRACT
Under the norms of the international system, the United States is expected to act as a single unit whose commitments are credible and whose communications reflect its government’s policies. Yet ours is a system of separated branches and shared powers, in which the executive and legislature both serve as sources of official policy and neither alone has the definitive word on policy issues. As the multilateral banks have become increasingly important to the world economy and the levels of public money entrusted to their care has multiplied in recent years, basic questions about national influence and public control have arisen. The problem of getting the Congress and executive branch together on an acceptable contribution level is more serious, for it endangers the viability and the effectiveness of the international agencies themselves. For the United States, the situation is more complex.
