On Wednesday, Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Mike Rogers (R-AL) announced their bill to defund the United Nations, with Townhall being granted an exclusive look. The bill is known as the "Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle Act of 2023," or the DEFUND Act. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is also introducing legislation in the Senate.
The bill would repeal The United Nations Participation Act of 1945, terminate membership to the UN, as well as close the United States mission to the UN. It would also repeal the United Nations Headquarters Agreement Act, a 1947 bill which set up UN headquarters.
When it comes to funding, the bill notes that:
No funds are authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for assessed or voluntary contributions of the United States to the United Nations or to any organ, specialized agency, commission or other formally affiliated body of the United Nations, except that funds may be appropriated to facilitate termination of United States membership and withdrawal of United States personnel and equipment... Upon termination of United States membership, no payments shall be made to the United Nations or to any organ, specialized agency, commission or other formally affiliated body of the United Nations, out of any funds appropriated prior to such termination or out of any other funds available for such purposes.
The bill also notes that the the "United States may not participate in any peacekeeping operation of the United Nations" as a result.
We've heard such calls to defund and leave the UN before. But this specific bill comes after the UN has turned a blind eye to the plight of Israelis after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, targeting men, women, and children alike. Not even babies or Holocaust survivors were spared. Terrorists also engaged in rape, torture, and kidnapping.
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As Townhall has been covering, UN Women has been particularly slow to stand up for Israeli women, doing so through deleted and rewritten posts to avoid specifically calling out Hamas, as well as equating the suffering of Israeli women with Palestinians in Gaza. The entity and overall body has also largely focused on the Palestinian perspective. It took close to two months after the attack for the UN Women's X account to put out a pinned post calling attention to the matter, though that had its own issues.
The UN even looks to be complicit in the keeping and mistreatment of hostages, as Townhall has also covered, with one hostage revealing that he was held at the home of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) teacher. After they were called out for both instances, those entities went with shamefully rehearsed non-answers in response.
The lawmakers also provided statements for Townhall about the bill.
"This year, the United Nations' corruption, and its despicable, brazen political agenda have been on full display," Roy said, going on to list issues with the UN. "From UNRWA actively protecting Hamas and acting against our ally Israel, delayed condemning Hamas, to China being elected to the 'Human Rights Council,' to the propagation of climate hysteria, covering for China's forced abortion and sterilization programs, the UN's decades-old, internal rot once again raises the questions of why the United States is even still a member or why we're wasting billions--indeed, $12.5 billion in 2021--every year on it." He also called for immediate action. "The UN doesn’t deserve one single dime of American taxpayer money or one bit of our support; we should defund it and leave immediately. I am proud to lead this critical effort alongside Mike Lee and Mike Rogers," he continued.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) notes that that money "account[ed] for just under one-fifth of funding for the body's collective budget," with the United States being the UN's largest donor. Roy had also shared a graphic from the CFR in a post from October 31.
Lee likewise had strong words for the UN. "No more blank checks for the United Nations. Americans' hard-earned dollars have been funneled into initiatives that fly in the face of our values--enabling tyrants, betraying allies, and spreading bigotry," he said. "With the DEFUND Act, we're stepping away from this debacle. If we engage with the UN in the future, it will be on our terms, with the full backing of the Senate and an iron-clad escape clause," the senator continued, addressing a possible future relationship with the UN.
Rogers' statement not only called out the UN, but called to mind how there's been an effort to defund the UN for years. "The United Nations routinely proves themselves to be an organization with the lone purpose of legitimizing the propaganda of terrorist organizations and the Chinese Communist Party," he said. "Their recent behavior following the October 7th terrorist attack on Israel is shameful and indicative of widespread antisemitism within the organization. For years, I have called on the United States to leave the UN, and I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing legislation that would ensure US taxpayer dollars no longer fund this sham establishment."
Roy posted about the bill from his press office account on Tuesday, which Rogers reposted. Lee also posted about the earlier on Wednesday.
The UN doesn’t deserve a single DIME of American taxpayer money
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) December 5, 2023
That’s why Rep. Roy is looking forward to introducing House legislation alongside @RepMikeRogersAL and @SenMikeLee that would DEFUND it https://t.co/UmAotpaQqT
The UN has become a tool of antisemitism.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 6, 2023
An enemy of Judeo-Christian beliefs.
A usurper of sovereignty.
A voice for Marxism.
The US gives nearly $20 billion a year to the UN, perpetuating its anti-American agenda.
It’s time for that to end.
It’s time to #DefundTheUN.
Today I’ll be filing my bill to #DefundTheUN.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 6, 2023
It’s time.
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