Dear [elected official], 

I’m writing to urge that the U.S. pay its dues to the UN Peacekeeping Budget on time and in full and lift the “cap” that prevents the U.S. from paying its fair share.

For more than two decades Congress has placed an arbitrary cap on our contributions to UN Peacekeeping, preventing us from paying the full amount we owe. By not paying our assessed share, the U.S. now owes more than $1.2 billion in back payments.

These shortfalls have caused operational and financial hardships for the UN and for the mainly lower-income countries that contribute peacekeeping troops. Meanwhile, the benefits the U.S. gets from UN Peacekeeping remain as clear as ever:

• Peacekeeping acts as a “force multiplier” for the U.S.
• Peacekeeping contains conflicts without involving U.S. troops
• UN Peacekeeping is one-eighth the cost of deploying U.S. forces

Lifting the cap on our payments stops past dues from accruing and allows the U.S. to advocate more effectively for our national security interests. Paying our agreed upon dues on time and in full is consistent with who we are as a nation, and preserves U.S. leadership on the global stage when it’s needed more than ever.