Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spearheaded a letter to House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ranking Member Hal Rogers (R-KY) requesting full FY 2021 funding for our nation’s UN peacekeeping dues. It was signed by seventy-eight Members of Congress – a record number.
In the letter, the members note that UN peacekeeping missions have long enjoyed bipartisan support and are a critical component of the international community’s conflict mitigation and stabilization toolbox. With more than 90,000 personnel serving in 13 missions around the world, UN peacekeeping constitutes the largest deployed multinational military force in the world. These operations help promote our nation’s core security goals and values without requiring the commitment of U.S. troops. They are also a cost-effective investment of taxpayer funds, as UN missions are eight times cheaper overall than U.S. forces acting alone.
