Republican bill targets UN funding ahead of Palestinian statehood vote

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.

/ AP

A key Republican lawmaker in House of Representatives is using the power of the purse to pressure the United Nations ahead of a key vote on the future of Palestine.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on Tuesday introduced legislation to significantly change the way the United Nations is funded and pressure U.N. members to vote against Palestinian statehood next month.

The Florida Republican's bill would call for the U.N. budget to be funded on a voluntary basis. It would give the international body two years to make at least 80 percent of its budget voluntary -- if the U.N. failed to meet that goal, the U.S. would withdraw half of its funding until it was reached.

The change would clearly have huge implications for the U.N., given that 22 percent of its budget is paid for by the U.S.

The bill would also allow the U.S. to choose which programs to support and calls for the withdrawal of U.S. funding for any U.N. agency or program that supports giving Palestine an elevated status within the U.N. A summary of the legislation says it "opposes efforts by the Palestinian leadership to evade a negotiated settlement with Israel and undermine opportunities for peace by seeking de facto recognition of a Palestinian state by the U.N."

The U.N. General Assembly is currently preparing to vote on recognizing Palestine as a state, regardless of the outcome of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday that the United States opposes the legislation, the Associated Press reports. Nuland said, "It would seriously undermine our international standing and dangerously weaken the U.N. as an instrument to advance U.S. national security goals."

The State Department has boasted that President Obama's "new era of engagement" has led to concrete results at the U.N., such as the stiffest U.N. sanctions ever against Iran and North Korea.

"We have repaired frayed relations with countries around the world. We've ended needless American isolation on a range of issues," the State Department says in a fact sheet. "And as a consequence, we've gotten strong cooperation on things that matter most to our national security interest."

Ros-Lehtinen's bill may make progress in the GOP-led House, but it is likely to meet opposition in the Democratic-led Senate, as well as from the administration.

[evenplayingfield]

The representative does not speak for all Floridian Republicans. The conduct of Israel, from its inception as a state, has been reprehensible as regards human rights. First the Palestinians were expelled from their lands in mass, and during the past sixty plus years more of their lands have been annexed, and their dignity trampled with the unconditional support of Israel's unjustifiable behavior. When you can kill four hundred children in Gaza, continue with the settlements in the West Bank, and when they are called to account by the rest of the world, only the US extends its support, something is terrible wrong with this picture.
I fully appreciate Israel's need to ensure its own survival, however, AIPAC is sowing seeds that may generate a harvest definitely not in the interest of the Israeli people. Witness the abandonment by a previously devoted ally, Turkey and the spread of the Islamic Brotherhood. These are not developments the consequences of which are solvable by the Israeli nuclear weapons capability. Lastly, the US has become a primary terrorist target, not in small measure due to its unconditional support of Israel. It's time that the media deals openly with the realities of the Middle East !!

[capsman727]

"The State Department has boasted that President Obama's "new era of engagement" has led to concrete results at the U.N., such as the stiffest U.N. sanctions ever against Iran and North Korea."

Was that before or after Iran built their nuke reactor and North Korea sunk a South Korean ship?

What was Obama's action... hey that's not nice, stop it.

[WeHappyFew]

At last the mainstream sites are running this story. We have barely three weeks to go and there's been radio silence.
Theres no way funding can be withdrawn. Thats such a toothless threat. It'll never happen.

America can only veto on the Security Council the General Assembly will undoubtedly pass the motion.
The IDF is arming the settlers with stun grenades tear gas and weaponry ahead of time.
I would be amazed if there is not a full Israeli incursion into the occupied territories in the next two weeks.Once Palestine is recognized Israel will not be able send in troops or use weapons against Palestine without a UN mandate.

This story should be given much more prominence.

[simpleconservative]

It is high time to stop pretending that the United Nations serves any worthwhile purpose in advancing American interests. This disfunctional body should go the way of the league of nations. Any body that places members like North Korea and other equally abusive nations on a human rights panel has outlived any useful purpose in the world!

[WeHappyFew]

The sole premise of the UN was the prevention of further world wars.

[nearl451]

The Congress cannot legislate our national stance on Palestine.

Nor can they usurp the role of the Executive.

[Loretta778]

The U.N. General Assembly is currently preparing to vote on recognizing Palestine as a state, irregardless of the fact that the United States has expressed the opposite opinion/desire. If we are giving them 22% of their funding, then why are they acting directly against our best interests?

The United Nations has become hijacked by non-democratic countries and is used in a highly politicized manner to further an agenda. Even UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan admitted at the opening of the 61st General Assembly on September 20, 2006, that Israel is often unfairly judged at the United Nations. "On one side, supporters of Israel feel that it is harshly judged by standards that are not applied to its enemies," he said. "And too often this is true, particularly in some UN bodies."

They are no longer a fair, non-predudiced or non-political organization.

[tvwatcher5345]

i wonder if this representative would support legislation to stop the 3 billion plus the US taxpayer gives to israel every year unless israel stops building on the occupied territory, which has been US policy going back many presidents....oy

[nearl451]

It seems she should be part of the Knesset rather than Congress, by introducing legislation that blackmails the UN.....and for nothing. US is in arears on UN dues anyway.

[markag55]

I lived in Tel Aviv for a year way back in 1970-1971. I understand the Israeli position, though do not agree with it. Secure borders: yes! Intelligence gathering: yes! Jerusalem, a united Israeli city: yes! However, Israel cannot continue to subjugate the Palestinians as they had been subjugated by their own Arab brothers since 1948. Ralph Bunch, the first African-American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, reached a two-state conclusion back in 1948. Because the Arab nations did not agree to it, they turned their backs on the Palestinians, while spending all their money on war against Israel and the propaganda associated with this, rather than helping the Palestinians build their own nation. Yes, I think Israel could have done better after the 1967 War to make peace. But, there is no doubt in my mind, that the major Arab Muslim countries, especially the wealthiest oil-producing countries of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait should have done their part. So I have no sympathy to the Arab world in general. However, I do have some for the Palestinians--they could have had their own country for the last 63 years! And Israel is NOT to blame for this catastrophe--the other Arab states are. And the saddest thing, perhaps, than ever, is they're STILL not helping to create a Palestine that will be its own country!