The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations believes the proposal to slash the country’s contributions to the global agency will adversely affect the donor nation’s influence abroad.
Ambassador Susan Rice appeared before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee chaired by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) on Thursday (April 7).
“There’s no question that when the United States is in debt to the United Nations, when we fail to meet our treaty obligations to pay our assessed contributions, that our influence is diminished, our standing is injured, and our ability to pursue important initiatives that advance U.S. national security and U.S. national interests is gravely undermined,” Rice said, according to Voice of America.
Rice added that the Obama administration is working toward the promotion of transparency and fiscal discipline at the United Nations.
Ros-Lehtinen has been vocal about making U.S. contributions to the U.N. voluntary instead of assessed in order to push for reforms at the global agency.
“We should only pay for UN programs and activities that advance our interests and our values. If other countries want different things to be funded, they can pay for it themselves,” she said in a March 21 statement.
>> Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: US Should Only Back UN Programs Advancing US Interests
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