James Sensenbrenner, June 10, 2005

The United Nations (UN) administered tens of millions of dollars in missing oil-for-food funds that helped to keep Saddam Hussein in power. UN peacekeepers in Africa are reported to be committing acts of sexual exploitation in refugee camps. The evildoers have yet to be brought to justice. Some of the most egregious human rights offenders in the world -- like Sudan, Cuba, and China -- are members of the UN Commission on Human Rights. By the UN’s twisted logic, such "expertise" merits a seat on the commission, from which Fidel Castro can condemn the United States and Israel for alleged human rights abuses.

Yet, the U.S. continues to provide 25% of this organization’s funding.

With the deplorable state of the current UN policy, it is not unreasonable for Congress to treat the international organization like a spoiled child who hasn’t done his chores. To that end, the House Committee on International Relations recently approved legislation to withhold the United States’ contribution from the UN if the organization does not make a series of changes in how it does business. The UN will whine about how this legislation is counterproductive to its goals, but as my father used to say, "the garbage won’t take itself out."

To address these problems at the UN, House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde introduced the UN Reform Act. Despite intensified scrutiny from congressional investigators, the UN remains defiant, and refuses to hold senior officials accountable for their downright criminal behavior. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Without strong reform legislation, the UN will continue to ignore its responsibilities, yet expect its allowance.

The Hyde bill suggests a wide range of reforms, including an independent oversight board, new codes of conduct for UN peacekeeping operations, and strict rules that would keep human rights violators off the agency’s Human Rights Commission. Since Congress cannot force changes at the UN, we need to find other ways to get our point across. The Hyde bill would mandate withholding up to 50 percent of the U.S.’s contributions if the UN does not reach 39 goals laid out in the bill. This withholding would cut to its core because the U.S. has been the UN’s biggest contributor, providing almost 25 percent of its budget (currently totaling $2 billion) since its inception. In contrast, France, Great Britain, China and Russia combined contribute less than 15 percent, and as members of the Security Council, each of these nations enjoys veto power over the U.S. It’s time the UN stopped disrespecting the U.S taxpayer, and started addressing its responsibilities.

No one can deny that the current structure and operations of the UN is a bureaucratic mess that needs to be cleaned up. Waste, fraud, and abuse take resources away from the UN’s mission to facilitate diplomacy, mediate disputes, monitor the peace, and feed the hungry. Political grandstanding, billions of dollars thrown at multitudes of broken programs, and the outright misappropriation of funds are just a few examples of the UN’s misbehavior.

Republican and Democratic administrations alike have long called for a more focused and accountable UN budget: one that reflects what should be the true priorities of the organization, shorn of duplicative, ineffective, and outdated programs. The time has come to make sure the UN’s chores get done. The American taxpayer won’t stand for this behavior anymore, and I look forward to voting in favor of the UN Reform Act when this bill comes to the House floor later this month.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner, a Republican, represents the Fifth Congressional District of Wisconsin. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Fifth District of Wisconsin forms an arc surrounding Milwaukee to the North and West, and includes parts of Jefferson, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, and all of Ozaukee and Washington counties.