House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks is leading 54 bipartisan lawmakers in urging Congress to fully fund the United Nations in FY 2027, stating that “the UN remains an indispensable partner in protecting and advancing America’s national interests.”
“The UN remains an indispensable partner in protecting and advancing America’s national interests.”
In a letter to appropriators — including Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart and Ranking Member Lois Frankel — Members call for robust funding across key UN accounts and the removal of the outdated 25% cap on peacekeeping contributions. Peacekeeping “is a force multiplier advancing our interests and helping to promote our values globally,” the lawmakers write.
Peacekeeping “is a force multiplier advancing our interests and helping to promote our values globally.”
Lawmakers cite the peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, which is a key partner in the Trump Administration’s efforts to end more than three decades of conflict in the east, including through the “implementation of a ceasefire between the parties, facilitating humanitarian access and engaging in other stabilization and civilian protection activities.”
Closer to home, in Haiti, they underscore that the UN is “advancing core U.S. interests in stabilizing conflicts in the Western Hemisphere,” notably through the Security Council’s authorization of a U.S.-backed Gang Suppression Force “without requiring U.S. boots on the ground.”
The UN is “advancing core U.S. interests in stabilizing conflicts in the Western Hemisphere.”
More broadly, they argue the UN enables the United States to “advance peace processes, promote democratic governance, counter terrorism, address human rights violations and bolster international efforts to combat fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking” — investments that “protect U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.”
But the letter also sounds the alarm. Recent cuts and missed payments have already “inflicted serious financial damage on the UN,” forcing reductions in peacekeeping personnel at a moment of rising global need. Continued shortfalls risk even greater consequences, including what the Secretary-General has warned could be “financial collapse.”
Recent cuts and missed payments have already “inflicted serious financial damage on the UN,” forcing reductions in peacekeeping personnel at a moment of rising global need.
Lawmakers point to the growing cost of inaction: the 25% cap alone has left the U.S. with more than $1.5 billion in arrears since 2017 — an unnecessary constraint that weakens both U.S. leverage and mission effectiveness.
At the same time, Members pair strong support with a call for accountability, emphasizing that transparency is “critical to our ability to exercise oversight over appropriated funds aligned with congressional intent.”
