Breirbart, among other dubious entities, is reporting that Nikki Haley Announces $285 Million Reduction to U.N. Funding
Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.), announced Sunday night that the federal government has reduced its contribution to the U.N.’s annual budget by 285 million dollars.
It then quotes her statement:
Today, the United Nations agreed on a budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Among a host of other successes, the United States negotiated a reduction of over $285 million off the 2016-2017 final budget. In addition to these significant cost savings, we reduced the UN’s bloated management and support functions, bolstered support for key U.S. priorities throughout the world, and instilled more discipline and accountability throughout the UN system.
Even though her statement does not back up their assertion, not missing a breath, Breitbart authoritatively states:
Haley’s statement comes after the U.N. voted to condemn the United States for President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The resolution, backed by nations with long records of extreme human rights abuses, passed 128-9 last Thursday. Haley immediately responded by threatening to reduce America’s U.N. funding
Trump and Haley just showed the U.N. that there are consequence for voting against the U.S.! She just slashed the the U.S.’s funding to the U.N. by $285 million dollars per year. More than enough to pay for the Wall and a couple of fighter Jets too.
Of course none of that is true.
The truth is that the Secretary-General of the U.N. António Guterres proposed the cuts back on October 11 2017, and it is a two year budget, not one.
I am grateful for this opportunity to introduce the proposed programme budget for 2018-2019.
The budget is our shared roadmap for fulfilling the promises of the Charter. It reflects the priorities established by the General Assembly, and our commitment to deliver results for the people we serve.
As you know, the Assembly invited me to prepare the 2018-2019 proposed programme budget based on a preliminary estimate of just under $5.4 billion.
I am proposing a budget level of just over $5.4 billion, before re-costing. This is almost 4 per cent – or around $200 million – below the appropriation for the current biennium.
Did I mention that it is not a one year budget, it is a two year budget. It is a $285 million dollar reduction from the last U.N. biannual budget to be sure, but it is not a $285 million per year reduction in U.S. payments to the U.N. The U.S. pays about 22% of the cost of running the U.N., so maybe it is a $30 million reduction from the last budget, but that is due to António Guterres, not Haley or Trump. It is also important to note that the proposal was also made two months before Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It could not have had anything to do with a Trump decision that had not even been made yet.
In a routine budget vote (something the Republican Congress can’t seem to accomplish) the UN General Assembly on December 24 adopted a budget of $5.396 billion for the upcoming two years, only slightly less than what António Guterres had asked for.
Trump and Haley made bold threats about cutting off aid to countries that vote against his move, threats that they were never prepared to back them up. So, Haley suggests that the already planned cut to the U.N. budget was due to her — and maybe somehow due to the U.N. vote. Breitbart flat out lies claiming the U.S. is saving $285 million per year.
And Trump’s base eats it up.