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| ON THE HILL I IA Appropriations Highlights | ||
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SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE AND COMMERCE (SSJC) BILL HIGHLIGHTS • Contributions for Int’l Peacekeeping (CIPA) President Bush’s Request: $1.03 billion, +$553 million from FY05 House Bill: $1.0355 billion Senate Bill: $1.0355 billion Conference Report: $1.0355 billion Current Status: President Bush had requested $1.03 billion for CIPA, setting aside funds that allow the United States to pay its share (currently set at 27.1 percent) of the total cost of the United Nations peacekeeping activities. In separate versions of their spending bills that fund State Department, House and Senate lawmakers followed the President’s recommendation. The Conference report that was recently agreed to also funded the CIPA account at this level, however, the conferees failed to provide authorizing language that would allow the U.S. to pay more than 25% of the UN ‘s peacekeeping assessment. Description of Account: CIPA funds pay the U.S. share of UN-assessed peacekeeping activities. Currently, there are 17 UN peacekeeping missions deploying over 80,000 personnel in areas around the globe including Africa, Europe/Eurasia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. United Nations peacekeeping affords the United States tremendous benefits at a time when stability in regions around the globe is sorely needed. Lawmakers often fail to understand or acknowledge that an increased peacekeeping budget is reflective of the increased need for peacekeeping worldwide, a practice that actually decreases the burden on American taxpayers in the long run. • Contributions to Int’l Organizations (CIO) President Bush’s Request: $1.2965 billion, + $130 million from FY05 House Bill: $1.144 billion Senate Bill: $1.166 billion Conference Report: $1.166 billion Current Status: The President’s requested amount of $1.29 billion for the CIO account was cut by over $130 million. This means reductions in U.S. contributions to one or more of the 47 international organizations of which we are members and to which we have pledged support. Because the Conference Report does not allocate funds to specific organizations it is still unclear where these reductions will occur and by how much. Description of Account: CIO funds pay U.S. assessed contributions to 47 international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and others. + Budget Table + TAKE ACTION |
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