|
Sponsored by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), the State Department Authorization Bill [H.R.
1950
summary] passed the House on July 16, 2003, but the Senate has yet to pass its companion bill,
S. 2144. The bill has cleared Senate Foreign Relations Committee and committee
chair Richard Lugar has pushed to have the bill considered by the Senate before
the Easter recess. But it is unclear if Senate Majority Leader Frist will give
it floor time in this compressed election year session. The House legislation increased support for certain developing countries for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, called for the expansion of the Peace Corps, established the Millennium Challenge Account, and provided funding for the UN and other international organizations, including $72 million
for US reentry into UNESCO.
The House version also incorporated bipartisan legislation [H.R.
1590] calling for, among other things, increased State Department capacity
to conduct multilateral negotiation and the creation of a
democracy caucus at the United Nations.
The Senate bill, S. 2144, contains a permanent removal of the 25% cap on US
payments for UN peacekeeping. The US has agreed to pay 27.4% of UN
peacekeeping costs. If the 25% cap is not removed, the U.S. will once again
accrue UN arrears; about $15.6 million in FY05 S. 2144 also requires a
report assessing the UN's progress in implementing the
Brahimi Report on peacekeeping.
It is unclear whether these provisions, which Citizens for Global Solutions
have actively promoted, will survive in the final legislation.
+ TAKE ACTION
|
