Menendez Amendment Increases UN Peacekeeping Funds

On May 3, 2006, the Senate unanimously agreed to increase funding by $60 million for UN peacekeeping in an emergency spending bill. This amount nearly doubles the amount requested by the president ($69.8 million) and matches the $129.8 million level set by House lawmakers ($69.8 million + $60 million). The additional funding is vitally important; it will help the UN prepare for an anticipated peacekeeping role in Darfur, and begin to pay back the significant deficit the U.S. has acquired in its contributions to UN peacekeeping ($521 million).

The increase was made possible by Senator Menendez (D-NJ), who introduced an amendment to raise, by $60 million, the amount in the bill slated for a U.S. contribution to international peacekeeping. Senators Leahy (VT), Brownback (KS), Biden (DE), Obama (IL), Sarbanes (MD), Dodd (CT), Lautenberg (NJ), Stabenow (MI), Wyden (OR) as co-sponsors of the amendment were also instrumental in its passage. The amendment was unanimously agreed upon by a voice vote.

The president requested $92.2 billion in supplemental spending back in February to help pay for unexpected costs incurred during the current fiscal year. Included in this package, was added funding to address the U.S.'s current shortfall for UN peacekeeping.

Bush's request for $69.8 million is for the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Southern Sudan (UNMIS), which is expected expand soon to also cover Darfur.  Bush also requested $123 million for the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Darfur (AMIS) – the only force currently on the ground in the war-torn region.

The House Appropriations committee took the bill up first and, thanks in part to extensive lobbying from Citizens for Global Solutions and its partners, increased funding for UN peacekeeping to $129.8 million. During debate on the floor of the House, Rep. Capuano (D-MA) added $50 million for AMIS to the bill, bringing totals for Darfur peacekeeping up to $173 million.

The House finished its supplemental on March 16, passing a $91.8 billion bill, $600 million below the president's request, by a vote of 348 to 71.

Early in April, the Senate Appropriations Committee failed to match the House’s increase for UN peacekeeping but provided the same $173 million in funding for AMIS.

The action taken by the Senate this week makes it more likely that the full $129.8 million for UN peacekeeping missions in Darfur and existing missions elsewhere will survive the pending House-Senate conference committee and become law.

Still, the U.S. is still significantly behind in its payments for UN peacekeeping operations and, at a time when we are asking the UN to take on greater peacekeeping responsibilities around the world. This funding shortfall should be addressed by Congress as soon as attention shifts to funding for the coming 2007 fiscal year. After all, the benefits of UN peacekeeping to U.S. national security interests are clear.

Citizens for Global Solutions commends Senator Menendez and the nine other co-sponsors of this measure for their outstanding work in getting more resources for UN peacekeeping. Ending the continuing atrocities in Darfur and helping millions of other victims of intra-state conflict is an important duty, and one that the UN does successfully at a fraction of the cost, in lives and money, of what it would be if the U.S. went in alone. We should continue to devote more resources to this endeavor in future budgets.