Sec. 101. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: The United States pays billions of dollars into the United Nations system every year (almost $7,700,000,000 in 2010, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget), significantly more than any other nation. Under current rules and contribution levels, it is possible to assemble the two-thirds majority needed for important United Nations budget votes with a group of countries that, taken together, pay less than 1 percent of the total United Nations regular budget.
The disconnect between contribution levels and management control creates significant perverse incentives in terms of United Nations spending, transparency, and accountability. The United Nations system suffers from unacceptably high levels of waste, fraud, and abuse, which seriously impair its ability to fulfill the lofty ideals of its founding. Amidst the continuing financial, corruption, and sexual abuse scandals of the past several years, American public disapproval of United Nations has reached all-time highs.
A 2013 Gallup poll revealed that 50 percent of Americans believe that the United Nations is doing a poor job, a negative assessment shared by a majority of respondents from both political parties. Significant improvements in United Nations transparency and accountability are necessary for improving public perceptions of American support for United Nations operations. Because of their need to justify future contributions from donors, voluntarily funded organizations have more incentive to be responsive and efficient in their operations than organizations funded by compulsory contributions that are not tied to performance.
Catherine Bertini, the former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Management and director of the World Food Program (WFP), has stated that . Voluntary funding creates an entirely different atmosphere at WFP than at the UN. At WFP, every staff member knows that we have to be as efficient, accountable, transparent, and results-oriented as possible. If we are not, donor governments can take their funding elsewhere in a very competitive world among UN agencies, NGOs, and bilateral governments.
Article XVII of the Charter of the United Nations, which states that , leaves to the discretion of the General Assembly the basis of apportionment, which could be done on the basis of voluntary pledges by Member States. [t]he expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned by the General Assembly Unlike United States assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget, which are statutorily capped at 22 percent of the total, there is no cap on voluntary contributions.
The United States, which contributes generously to international organizations whose activities it recognizes as credible, worthwhile, and efficient, contributes more than 22 percent of the budget of certain voluntarily funded United Nations Specialized Agencies. John Bolton, Former United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has stated that . Moving to voluntary funding would end the UN practice of charging member states for the expenses of the UN and its activities.
Member states would instead determine for themselves how much to provide to the UN and, importantly, the specific tasks and activities that those contributions would support. The shift toward a voluntary payment system would impose a stronger market incentive for UN programs and activities to meet their goals and justify continued funding.