Foreign Relations Authorization. The Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (H.R. 6018) authorizes $9 billion for the State Department’s diplomatic and consular programs, $1.6 billion for dues to international organizations (about $0.6 billion for UN regular budget dues and about $1 billion in contributions to 43 other UN-system, regional, and non-UN organizations), and $1.8 billion for contributions for UN peacekeeping activities. The United States is the largest contributor to UN dues and peacekeeping, paying 22 percent of total UN regular dues and 27 percent of UN peacekeeping operations.
When the U.S. Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations by a vote of 65 to 7 on December 4, 1945, it violated the Constitution by ceding our national sovereignty regarding engaging in wars to the United Nations. Whereas the Constitution grants the power “to declare war” exclusively to Congress in Article I, Section 8, the UN Charter grants this power to the UN’s Security Council.
The House passed H.R. 6018 on July 17, 2012 by a vote of 333 to 61 (Roll Call 469). We have assigned pluses to the nays because U.S. participation in the United Nations involves an unconstitutional delegation of our national sovereignty to the UN.
