[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 125 (Monday, September 24, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H5941-H5943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   LIMITATION ON PER COUNTRY SHARE OF ASSESSMENTS FOR UNITED NATIONS 
                        PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 248) to amend the Admiral James W. Nance and Meg 
Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 
2001, to adjust a condition on the payment of arrearages to the United 
Nations that sets the maximum share of any United Nations peacekeeping 
operation's budget that may be assessed of any country.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 248

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. LIMITATION ON THE PER COUNTRY SHARE OF ASSESSMENTS 
                   FOR UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 931(b)(2) of the Admiral James W. 
     Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 
     Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 (as enacted by section 1000(a)(7) 
     of Public Law 106-113 and contained in appendix G of that 
     Act; 113 Stat. 1501A-480) is amended by striking ``25 
     percent'' and inserting ``28.15 percent''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The undesignated paragraph under 
     the heading ``arrearage payments'' in title IV of the 
     Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 
     and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as contained 
     in section 101(b) of division A of the Omnibus Consolidated 
     and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999; 112 
     Stat. 2681-96) is amended by striking ``25 percent'' and 
     inserting ``28.15 percent''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the Senate bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of S. 248, a measure urgently requested by 
the administration. Its enactment will help to ensure that we can pay 
the second installment of our arrearages to the United Nations in 
return for continued progress in lowering our assessment ceilings for 
the U.N. regular budget and for U.N. peacekeeping operations.
  Our actions on this measure are all the more important in light of 
the events of September 11. Meeting our financial obligations to the 
United Nations will help to ensure that our policymakers can keep the 
focus on broad policies that unite the members of the security council 
in the fight against global terrorism.
  Its enactment revises one of the provisions of the underlying U.N. 
reform legislation, known as the Helms-Biden law, ensuring that we do 
not accumulate any additional arrears and that our assessed share for 
the United Nations peacekeeping operations will drop from close to 32 
percent to 28 percent.

                              {time}  1445

  In December of 2000, the U.N. put in place a 6-year plan to reduce 
our share of U.N. peacekeeping costs, with the result that in 2002, our 
assessment ceiling will drop to 26.5 percent, with further reductions 
until it reaches 25 percent in 2006.
  Our adoption of S. 248 will also ensure that our assessment ceiling 
for the U.N. regular budget will go from 25 percent to 22 percent, and 
that other long-term U.N. reform measures are fully implemented. Over 
the next 10 years, these lower payment ceilings will provide more than 
$2 billion of savings to the American taxpayer.
  Enacted in the 106th Congress, the Helms-Biden law authorized a total 
of $819 million in arrearage payments to the U.N., including $100 
million in fiscal year 1998 funds, $475 million in fiscal year 1999 
funds, and $244 million in fiscal year 2000. The legislation also 
allowed an additional $107 million in debt relief of monies owed to the 
U.S. by the U.N.
  These payments are only made upon specified certifications by the 
Department of State that the U.N. has implemented reform benchmarks 
upon each tranche of funds. Among the certifications for release of the 
first $100 million authorized under the Helms-Biden legislation are 
stipulations that the U.N. would not implement any measure violating 
our Constitution, ceding sovereignty, taxing Americans, creating a 
standing army, charging the U.S. interest on arrears or exercising 
control over any U.S. park, monument or property.

[[Page H5942]]

  In December of 1999, this certification was made, and $100 million of 
fiscal year 1998 funds were paid to the U.N. This legislation would 
enable the Department of State to pay the second tranche of $475 
million, together with the $107 million in debt relief foregone to the 
U.S., for a total of $582 million, conditional upon a similar 
certification that our U.N. assessment ceilings are being reduced.
  I urge the adoption of this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  First, Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my good friend, the 
distinguished chairman of the Committee on International Relations, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for his outstanding work in 
bringing this legislation before the House.
  I wish to take this opportunity to discuss the recent terrorist 
attacks and explain why, in light of these tragic events, it is all the 
more important that we pay our arrears to the United Nations.
  Two weeks ago, Mr. Speaker, our Nation lost its innocence, but it 
found a new sense of unity and purpose. This new sense of unity comes 
from the sudden realization that our open and free and democratic way 
of life is under attack, and it must be and will be defended. We must 
learn from this tragic experience and we must be able to take 
intelligent, thoughtful and swift action.
  But the United States, Mr. Speaker, cannot act alone and expect to 
prevail in this long-term painful struggle against international 
terrorism. All Americans deeply appreciate the many expressions of 
sympathy and support from our friends and allies, and some who do not 
fall into either category, but it will require actions, not simply 
words, to defeat global terrorist organizations and the nations which 
give them support and safe harbor.
  As President Bush, Secretary Powell and our Nation's diplomatic corps 
begin to secure concrete commitments required to wage this battle 
against international terrorism, we must take advantage of every forum 
available to reach out to the nations of the world. The United Nations 
is clearly the world's premier forum, and it will be one of the primary 
theaters for the United States to act diplomatically on this matter.
  Within 48 hours of the September 11 outrage, the U.N. Security 
Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations condemned the 
violence and voted to support actions taken against those who are 
responsible and against those States that aid them.
  On Friday of that week, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote an 
op-ed piece in the New York Times, and he said the following:

       The international communities is defined not only by what 
     it is for, but by what and whom it is against. The United 
     Nations must have the courage to recognize that just as there 
     are common aims, there are common enemies. To defeat them, 
     all nations must join forces in an effort encompassing every 
     aspect of the open, free global system, so wickedly and 
     viciously exploited by the perpetrators of last week's 
     atrocities. The United Nations is uniquely positioned to 
     advance this effort.

  Mr. Speaker, United Nations conventions already provide a legal 
framework for many of the concrete actions which must be taken by 
nations to eradicate terrorism. These conventions provide for the 
extradition and prosecution of terrorists and the suppression of money 
laundering. Nations that are serious about joining the United States in 
our battle against global terrorism must ratify these important 
conventions.
  The United Nations can also help to ensure that the new battle 
against global terrorism does not slip to the back burner. Last 
Thursday President Bush said, ``Even grief recedes with time and grace, 
but our resolve must not pass.''
  By helping to focus the international community on the scourge of 
terrorism, I believe the United Nations can help us turn our collective 
grief into concrete victories against the new enemy of the 21st 
century, international terrorism.
  Aside from the battle against terrorism, the United Nations continues 
to play an invaluable role in promoting international peace and 
stability. Since its inception over half a century ago, the U.N. has 
negotiated 172 peaceful settlements to conflicts around the globe, 
helping to end the civil war in El Salvador and the Iran-Iraq war. Its 
peacekeeping operations have assisted to uphold cease-fires, conduct 
free and fair elections, deter violence and create free and democratic 
nations.
  Even today, the U.N. is giving birth to a free and independent East 
Timor. Since the East Timorese voted in 1999 for independence from 
Indonesia and suffered enormous human and economic costs as a result of 
the violence following that vote, the United Nations has taken charge 
of this fledgling country, which just completed its first free and fair 
elections.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, we cannot ask the United Nations to bring freedom 
to difficulties-possessed people, battle terrorism, resolve 
international conflicts and conduct extensive peacekeeping operations, 
and yet fail to pay our dues. The Helms-Biden United Nations package 
enacted in 1999 provided for the payment of American back-dues over a 
3-year period, and our former United Nations ambassador, Richard 
Holbrook, performed exceptionally well in successfully negotiating the 
type of U.N. reforms called by the Helms-Biden Act.
  The legislation before our body today brings the U.N. arrears package 
into line with the far-reaching U.N. reform plan engineered by 
Ambassador Holbrooke and ensures that the $582 million can move forward 
expeditiously. I am very pleased that the United Nations arrears 
legislation enjoys such strong bipartisan support, and again, I wish to 
commend my friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde), for his 
exemplary leadership on this bill.
  I would note, however, that we are not bound by a side agreement 
between the White House and the House Republican leadership on the 
International Criminal Court that may be related to this legislation 
moving forward.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people passionately support the common 
goal, punishment of those who conducted the September 11 attacks, and 
an end to global terrorism. The United Nations can help achieve that 
goal if we meet our commitments. I strongly urge all of my colleagues 
to support this important bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the learned 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chairman 
yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, as the prime sponsor of the Admiral James W. Nance and 
Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, fiscal years 2000 and 
2001, H.R. 3427, signed by President Clinton on November 29, 1999, I 
rise in very strong support of this legislation, S. 248, legislation 
that alters that Act and provides additional flexibility in pursuing 
our goals of reforming the operations of the United Nations while 
strengthening our efforts to build a coalition against this terrorist 
threat that we all face.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3427, which authorized appropriations for the 
Department of State, contained dozens of reforms for our State 
Department, refugee protection, freedom broadcasting and a host of 
other things. As a matter of fact, the embassy security portion of it 
provided $5.9 billion over 5 years to try to beef up our efforts and to 
mitigate the threats against terrorists abroad. It also contained what 
is commonly referred to as the Helms-Biden provisions, Title IX, which 
contained specific reforms for the U.N. in exchange for payment of U.S. 
arrearages.
  In the first year, the new law required that before arrearages were 
to be made, the Secretary of State had to make a number of 
certifications concerning U.S. sovereignty. That satisfied, the arrears 
payments were released. In the second year, which is the focus of this 
legislation we are considering today, the Secretary of State is 
required to make certifications requiring reductions in assessments as 
mandated by law. Specifically, our legislation required that the 
assessment of the U.N.'s regular budget be lowered from 25 percent to 
22 percent, and the U.S. share of any peacekeeping operations be 
reduced to no greater than 25 percent of the total cost.

[[Page H5943]]

  In December of last year, as my colleagues, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) have 
pointed out, following negotiations with the U.S. Representative to the 
U.N., the General Assembly agreed to lower the assessment for the 
regular budget to 22 percent, as required.
  In addition, an agreement was reached to lower the peacekeeping share 
borne by the U.S., although at a more gradual pace than envisioned. 
Under the negotiated agreement, the U.S. share would drop from 
approximately 31 percent to 28.15 percent beginning in January of 2001. 
Subsequently, the rate would drop from 27.5 percent on July 1, then to 
26.5 in 2002, and further reductions are anticipated, until we get down 
to the 25 percent within a 6-year time period.
  Mr. Speaker, while this reduction is not as great as we had called 
for in the legislation, it does represent a significant reform of the 
United Nations, and will save American taxpayers about $2 billion over 
the next 10 years.

                              {time}  1500

  Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, by accepting this negotiated settlement, we 
provide a clear signal to the world community that the United States is 
serious about acting together with other nations of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 248 will amend our law to fall in line with the 
negotiated reductions. I think it is a good bill and it deserves, I 
believe, the unanimous backing, especially during this time of crisis, 
of every Member of this Chamber.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, we continue to reserve our time.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Committee on Government 
Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans' Affairs, and 
International Relations, I rise in strong support of repaying our debt 
to the United Nations.
  Make no mistake about it. While this bill is being considered on the 
suspension calendar, it is one of the most important foreign policy 
decisions Congress will make this year.
  Since the brutal terrorist attacks of September 11, our Nation has 
been working as never before to build an international coalition for 
the war against terrorism. Yet, at the same time, the administration is 
reaching out to nations from every corner of the globe, the United 
States remains the biggest debtor nation at the U.N. This is not only 
unacceptable, it is a gigantic impediment to our diplomatic efforts and 
clearly endangers our national security.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 248 is necessary because the 1999 Helms-Biden 
agreement, which I supported, authorized the repayment of our Nation's 
$926 million debt to the U.N., but contained a number of benchmarks the 
U.N. was required to meet. Last December, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke 
reached a landmark agreement with our U.N. member nations on reductions 
in regular budget and peacekeeping contributions by the United States. 
The agreement received the subsequent endorsement of Senators Jesse 
Helms and Joseph Biden who drafted this legislation to adjust certain 
statutory requirements so they would conform with this agreement and 
permit the long overdue payment of the U.S. arrears to the U.N.
  The Cold War is over, but on September 11, we saw in very plain terms 
that the world is a far more dangerous place.
  Today, there is considerable uncertainty, both at home and abroad, 
about the period we are entering and how we will wage the war against 
terrorists. During this period of less clearly defined global politics, 
we will, we must, increasingly rely on the United Nations as a forum 
for resolving the varied interests of autonomous nations. Yet, every 
day we fail to pay our debts to the U.N., we make our work far more 
difficult.
  Countries all over the world are looking to the United States for 
leadership, yet what they see is a very powerful and wealthy country 
refusing to live up to some of its international commitments. Why, as a 
nation, would we want to unnecessarily complicate our diplomatic 
efforts at a time when we need every ounce of leverage?
  I want to conclude by stating that S. 248 enjoys broad bipartisan 
support. It passed the Senate earlier this year by a vote of 99 to 0, 
and Secretary of State Colin Powell has called it a needed step in 
repaying our arrears. I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Hastert), the Speaker of the House, and the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the Committee on International Relations, 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member of 
the committee, for bringing this legislation to the floor in a way that 
will allow us to avoid a protracted conference with the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 248 so we can get it 
to the President's desk immediately.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, we have no additional requests for time; and 
I yield back the balance of our time.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 248 
which will authorize payment of United States back dues to the United 
Nations. Great nations pay their bills. It is time the United States 
met its obligations to this critical international organization.
  This legislation will release the second installment of $582 million 
to pay off our back dues to the U.N. totaling almost $1 billion. As the 
United States has seen from the recent tragedy of September 11, a 
strong United Nations is in our national interest. The U.N. will play a 
critical role in building diplomatic and international support in the 
war against terrorism.
  Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Congress needs to live up to our commitments. 
In 1999, we told the U.N. that if it made certain reforms, we would pay 
our back dues through the Helms-Biden legislation. The U.N. has kept 
its end of the bargain and now it is time for Congress to keep our word 
to pay these funds. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Richard 
Holbrooke deserves credit and thanks for negotiating this agreement 
with the United Nations.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the leadership in the House 
for bringing this important measure to the floor today. Now is the time 
for action. I would urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this 
legislation.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Passage of the S. 
248, the United Nations Dues Payment Act, which will allow the payment 
of $582 million that has been already authorized in light of recent and 
ongoing reforms at the United Nations. This would give the United 
States increased leverage in pursuing its policies at the United 
Nations, particularly in forming a worldwide anti-terror coalition.
  Today the United Nations, and the international community as a whole, 
is at a watershed. As we analyze our current situation, we must bear in 
mind where we have been. The United Nations was born our of the ashes 
of the most terrible, costly war of the 20th century. A strong U.N. 
might have prevented it. Today, the U.N. must seize a role in 
marshaling the international community's long-term efforts to defeat 
today's challenge: the scourge of international terrorism.
  At the same time, the U.N. must abandon its unhealthy practice of 
placing an excessive dependence on a single contributor. Under S. 248, 
our assessed rate for the UN regular budget is cut from 25 to 22 
percent while the U.S. assessed share for peacekeeping operations rate 
will drop immediately from about 32 to 28 percent. Furthermore, further 
reductions in the percentage of the U.N. budget paid by the U.S. for 
U.N. peacekeeping operations will take place on a sliding scale, 
reaching 25 percent by 2006 from 30 percent today.
  The fact remains that as a member of the U.N., and having voted in 
favor many of these peacekeeping missions in the Security Council, we 
need to make good on our obligations to pay the current arrearage of 
$582 million. Failure to do so jeopardizes our efforts to establish a 
multilateral, multifaceted coalition to combat the international 
terrorism.
  Accordingly, it is fitting that we agree to this legislation.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time; and 
other than to thank my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos), for his usual expeditious treatment of complicated matters, I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 248.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.




                          ____________________