ICYMI: Appropriators Demand America First Accountability at the United Nations
Washington, D.C. – Last week, Appropriators on the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Subcommittee traveled to New York City for a bipartisan field hearing at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Chaired by Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), the subcommittee heard from the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Michael Waltz.
The hearing focused on new legislative requirements for the UN in the recently enacted FY26 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs (NSRP) Appropriations Act, as well as the Trump Administration's reforms to the UN and oversight of the way federal tax dollars are spent. Republicans reiterated the role appropriations plays in exercising the power of the purse to support America First leadership on the world stage: investments must support U.S. policy objectives, security, and values.
Thanks to President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Ambassador Waltz, the United States continues to push for accountability and transparency at the UN. Appropriators – in the FY26 law – required the Secretary of State to determine whether or not accountability and anti-bias measures are in place before funding can flow from the federal government to the UN.
Allocations must follow results – not blind expectations – and the UN should welcome strong oversight from its highest-paying member nation. Ambassador Waltz made it clear during this field hearing that the Trump Administration is taking accountability measures seriously, not only regarding the UN, but in every place where taxpayer dollars are spent. For too long, Washington allowed business as usual – which enabled waste, weakened scrutiny, and failed to deliver results – and the United States will not bankroll that model any longer. Through enacted NSRP measures and renewed leadership by the Executive Branch, we are using all levers to restore discipline, enforce consequences, and promote freedom.
President Trump has expressed that the United Nations has great potential and that one day it will eventually live up to that promise. It's long overdue, and we are driving that reset into motion.
In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) said, "Too often, the UN is directly at odds with America’s interests and makes a mockery of the very things it claims to support. From the Human Rights Council with many of the world’s worst offenders, to the World Health Organization’s pandering to communist China during COVID-19 while shutting out Taiwan, to Iran winning a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women while its regime brutalized women in the streets. Luckily, President Trump and Secretary Rubio are ushering in a new era of international accountability. One that demonstrates the glaring inadequacies of the UN. The central problem is not the Member States but the UN structure itself. It is embedded in the UN bureaucracy, its reporting practices, its discretionary funding pipelines, and its weak culture of oversight."
Read Chairman Díaz-Balart's full remarks here.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) said, "This committee, more than any other, has the utmost responsibility to ensure that every single dollar is going to a program that supports our citizens' national security, and also opens up economic opportunity for our country. It's not just wealthy American taxpayer dollars that are going out the door – it's also our farmers' and our factory workers'. That's their money as well, so I stand firm on this responsibility."
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) said, "It is gratifying to hear that America is finally getting focused with the dollars that we send overseas and that we're insisting that the American taxpayer, the American citizen, really gets something from the funds that we've been sending abroad for years."
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) said, "This past week, I had the opportunity to meet with three amazing individuals, and what they all had in common is that they were daughters whose loved one was imprisoned by the People's Republic of China. Claire Lai, her father is Jimmy Lai. He's in Hong Kong, [where he] spoke out for freedom, democracy, and has been [imprisoned] for five years. [He is] 80 years old, declining rapidly in prison. The other is Grace Jin, and Grace's father, pastor Ezra Jin, [who] is in China. He recently was put in prison for teaching the Bible, preaching, [and] being the leader of a church there. And the [third] is Ziba, and her mother is Dr. Gulshan Abbas. She has also been in prison; she's Uyghur. And the reason she was imprisoned is because her sister here in the United States was speaking out against the genocide occurring against the Uyghurs in China... I would just ask for [Ambassador Waltz's] help as you speak with others here at the United Nations and as you're preparing the discussions that will take place. I would ask you to advocate for those families who are suffering because their loved one has been unjustly imprisoned now."
As FY27 funding discussions continue, we remain committed to robust oversight of how federal money is spent. American taxpayers deserve to know their tax dollars are going to support American ideals and goals – whether it's in their local community or on the other side of the world. Bipartisan achievements in the FY26 NSRP bill have provided Ambassador Waltz with the resources necessary to supply strong accountability and transparency at the UN, and House Appropriators will continue to prioritize those efforts in the FY27 funding process.
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