Washington, D.C. (Oct. 19, 2021) — Peter Yeo, President of the Better World Campaign, released the following statement on the Senate Appropriations bill published Monday:
“Overall, the Senate State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations bill includes $60.6 billion for international affairs programs, a 9 percent increase ($5.1 billion) over the level enacted by the FY 2021 Omnibus Appropriations bill. This level is 3 percent ($1.7 billion) below the House-approved level and the Biden Administration’s FY 2022 Budget request.
“With respect to the United Nations, this bill — similar to what was outlined in President Biden’s Budget request and the FY’22 House SFOPS bill — calls for full funding of our UN treaty obligated dues and a lifting of the arbitrary cap on peacekeeping contributions. In addition, the bill provides a $225 million down payment on the more than one billion in UN Peacekeeping arrears the U.S. accrued during the previous four years and sets aside $82.4 million in human-rights related arrears for the UN regular budget.
“Over the last four years, Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and SFOPS Subcommittee Chair Chris Coons (D-DE) saw that multilateral organizations have faced serious challenges in implementing some of their most important and high-profile programs — many of which are manifestly in the U.S. interest — due to a lack of stable and predictable U.S. funding. This unpredictability undermined America’s standing and influence at the UN and allowed other nations, with malign intentions, to take advantage. In crafting this bill, Senators Leahy and Coons recognized that, the sooner the U.S. pays what it owes to the UN, the stronger our position on the global stage.
“Chairman Coons and the SFOPS Subcommittee also rightly recognized the link between global health and national security yesterday.
“By proposing increases in critical global health programs, the U.S. and other countries will be better prepared to detect and prevent new viruses, which in turn protects Americans and the American economy.
Proposed increases in Global Health Investments for FY ’22, from FY ‘21 levels, include:
- Pandemic prevention and response: $810 million
- UN Population Fund (UNFPA): $22.5 million
- Reproductive Health Programs: $75 million
- Malaria Prevention: $30 million
- Polio Eradication: $36 million
“As the FY’22 appropriations process comes to a conclusion over the coming weeks, we call on Congress and the Administration to maintain the highest international affairs funding levels possible to ensure investments are sufficient and commensurate with what’s required to advance U.S. interests and address urgent global crises.”
About the Better World Campaign
The Better World Campaign, an initiative of the Better World Fund, works to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the United Nations. It encourages U.S. leadership to enhance the UN’s ability to carry out its invaluable international work on behalf of peace, progress, freedom, and justice. For more information, visit www.betterworldcampaign.org.
Media Contact:
info_bwc@unfoundation.org
