House Defeats Bill Which Would Have Harmed Funding for UN Peacekeeping

CGS is happy to report that the House of Representatives voted on February 9^th to defeat H.R. 519, the ‘‘United Nations Tax Equalization Refund Act of 2011.’’  This bill, introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), would have asked the U.N. to return $180 million in U.S. dues which had been earmarked by the U.S. government to provide security for the U.N. building in New York City, and to fund peacekeeping missions around the globe.

The bill purported to save taxpayers money by returning approximately $180 million in credits that have accumulated in the Tax Equalization Fund (TEF) since 2000.   The TEF is a fund used to ensure that U.S. citizens working at the UN are not disadvantaged in their salary compared to those from other countries, since the United States, unlike other nations, decided not to exempt their citizens from paying taxes on UN compensation.  However, according to Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, the $180 million in overpayments in the TEF are in the form of credits, not cash, and thus cannot be refunded. Furthermore, the U.S. government had already planned to use the $180 million in credits to harden security around the U.N. building in New York, and to help fund peacekeeping missions around the globe.

The legislation failed by a vote of 259 to 169. By the rules under which it was considered, it required a two-thirds vote in order to pass, and it did not reach that threshold.  The vote was largely party line, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats voting against it.  However, Representative Peter King (R-NY), spoke out in opposition to H.R. 519, saying that it would endanger security at the United Nations building. "We're talking about human life here. If someone is killed in an attack on the U.N., I don't think we will be able to go back and say, well, the money was in the wrong account," Rep. King stated.

Citizens for Global Solutions, as supporters of robust funding for the U.N. and its peacekeeping missions around the world, strongly opposed H.R. 519 and we are pleased that it was defeated by the House of Representatives.  We thank all members of Congress who voted against the bill for their support.