Key Takeaways
- •Michael George Glen Waltz (U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations) announced a historic 15% reduction in the UN regular budget, eliminating 3,000 positions and saving U.S. taxpayers $126 million.
- •Waltz testified that the U.S. withdrew from 66 international organizations and is implementing a "trade over aid" model to reduce long-term dependence on humanitarian grants through private investment.
- •Rep. DeLauro (D, CT-3) challenged Waltz on withholding $2.2 billion in UN dues, while Waltz maintained that these arrears are necessary leverage to force transparency and bureaucratic reform.
- •Rep. Diaz-Balart (R, FL-26) advocated using funding as leverage for reform, whereas Rep. Frankel (D, FL-22) warned that transactional foreign policy and budget cuts cede global influence to adversaries.
- •The subcommittee will monitor the upcoming UN Secretary-General election and the ongoing review of international organizations to ensure future funding aligns strictly with U.S. national security interests.
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Hearing Analysis
Overview
This field hearing, conducted at the United States Mission to the United Nations, examined the implementation of significant reforms and accountability measures within the international body. The discussion focused on the strategic use of U.S. financial contributions as leverage to streamline the United Nations (UN) bureaucracy and ensure that taxpayer dollars are aligned with American national security interests.
Key Testimony & Policy
Ambassador Michael Waltz (Witness), the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, testified on the administration's "back to basics" approach, which prioritizes international peace and security over bureaucratic expansion. He highlighted the impact of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs (NSRP) Appropriations Act, which facilitated a 16% reduction in related spending. Waltz detailed a historic 15% cut to the UN’s regular budget—amounting to $570 million—which is expected to eliminate nearly 3,000 headquarters positions and save the U.S. approximately $126 million in assessments. Furthermore, the administration has pushed for a 25% reduction in peacekeeping troops and the closure of ineffective missions in Iraq (UNAMI) and Yemen.
The Ambassador also discussed the administration's withdrawal from 66 international organizations following a review of their effectiveness. A major policy shift involves the total defunding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with Waltz citing its infiltration by Hamas as a primary reason. To modernize development efforts, the administration is promoting a "Trade over Aid" model, seeking to utilize the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to foster private sector investment in developing nations, thereby reducing long-term reliance on UN grants.
Notable Exchanges & Partisan Dynamics
Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart (R, FL-26) emphasized that U.S. funding should be viewed as "leverage, not tribute," praising new legislative tools that shift accountability determinations from UN self-reporting to the U.S. Secretary of State. Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R, AZ-6) and Rep. Chuck Edwards (R, NC-11) supported this stance, focusing on the need for measurable results and the protection of taxpayer funds from organizations that do not align with U.S. values.
Conversely, Ranking Member Lois Frankel (D, FL-22) and Full Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D, CT-3) expressed concern that deep funding cuts and arrears—totaling approximately $2.2 billion—undermine U.S. global leadership. Rep. DeLauro argued that the U.S. is a net beneficiary of the UN, noting that American businesses received over $2.1 billion in UN contracts in 2024. She warned that "starving" the UN creates a vacuum that the People's Republic of China is eager to fill. Rep. Grace Meng (D, NY-6) and Rep. Norma Torres (D, CA-35) questioned the administration's humanitarian strategy, specifically regarding the crisis in Gaza and the U.S. abstention from a General Assembly resolution condemning the invasion of Ukraine.
Organizations Mentioned
- United Nations (UN): The central focus of the hearing regarding budget cuts, bureaucratic reform, and its core mission of peace and security. - United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): Defunded by the administration due to allegations of Hamas infiltration and lack of neutrality. - United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): Discussed by Democrats as a critical provider of vaccines and education, while Republicans questioned its overlapping missions. - World Food Programme (WFP): Mentioned in the context of humanitarian aid delivery in Sudan and Gaza and the need for greater operational efficiency. - People's Republic of China (China): Criticized for expanding its influence within the UN while contributing minimal voluntary funding compared to the U.S. - United States Agency for International Development (USAID): Discussed regarding the reorganization of its functions and the shift toward a more coherent foreign aid strategy. - World Health Organization (WHO): Cited by the Chairman as an example of an organization that failed to maintain accountability during the COVID-19 pandemic. - U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC): Identified as a key component of the "Trade over Aid" strategy to encourage private sector investment.
What's Next
The hearing identified the upcoming election of a new UN Secretary-General as a pivotal moment for further reform. Ambassador Waltz indicated that the U.S. is engaging with candidates to ensure they prioritize budget discipline and internal oversight. Additionally, the Bureau for International Organization is expected to brief Congress in the coming weeks on the criteria used for the recent withdrawal from 66 international organizations.
Transcript
The Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs will come to order. Thank you, members. Good morning, Ambassador Waltz, members of the subcommittee, and others who have joined us today for this critically important field hearing on accountability and reform at the United Nations. We are convened here at the United States Mission to the United Nations, overlooking New York City and the UN headquarters, really a fitting vantage point to note that oversight, oversight of American taxpayer dollars is non-negotiable. Over the last three fiscal years, this subcommittee has reduced total spending under our purview by 22 percent. This includes the largest cut in the recent enacted fiscal year 2026 NSRP Appropriations Act, which actually slashed 16 percent, 16 percent by getting rid of inefficient and ineffective programs and refocusing, refocusing funding on programs that are in the direct national security interest of the United States. Funding for the United Nations was not exempt from this very needed review, which resulted in a double-digit cuts and stronger requirements that demand accountability and reform on behalf of the American taxpayer. This hearing today, it's really an opportunity to discuss these measures that go hand in hand with the really outstanding work that Ambassador Waltz and his team have just begun to undertake with really, frankly, notable results. That's what this subcommittee and taxpayers will continue to demand. They demand, we demand results. As President Trump said, the United Nations has great potential. But the President also noted that the UN has not come remotely close to living up to that potential. Anyone who has followed this subcommittee in recent years knows well that I could not agree more. Too often, the UN is in direct odds with the American, with our, with America's interests and makes a mockery of the very things that it claims to support. Look, from 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, to Iran winning a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women while its regime brutalized and murdered women on the streets. Well, fortunately, President Trump and Secretary Rubio are ushering in a new era of international accountability, one that demonstrates the glaring inadequacies, unfortunately, of the UN. I believe that the central problem is not the member states, but the UN structure itself. It's embedded in the UN bureaucracy, its reporting practices, its discretionary funding pipelines, and its weak culture of oversight. But for too long, administrations have really relied on UN self-reporting, on vague assurances, and funding without sufficient conditions. That approach has produced a system of increasingly just that's totally comfortable with its bloatness and brokenness. So let me be clear. That era is over. As long as I am chairman of this subcommittee, the subcommittee that provides the US contribution to the UN, this status quo will no longer be tolerated. The American people have every right to expect that institutions funded with their tax dollars will support United States security, respect our allies, and operate with transparency and accountability. Too often, that is not what we see. The enacted fiscal year 2026 NSRP law begins to change that substantially. This subcommittee worked awfully hard to secure tools that match the scale of the problem. The law cuts funding to unaccountable UN bodies and other international organizations. It strengthens withholdings until entities meet standards on oversight, eliminating anti-Israel bias and antisemitism, aid diversion reporting, and terrorist vetting. It shifts key accountability triggers away from UN self-reporting and towards determinations by the Secretary of State of the United States. It strengthens Inspectors General and GAO oversight access. It bars funding for UNRWA and the Commission of Inquiry against Israel. And it provides additional leverage tied to member state conduct, including, including voting patterns at the UN and the treatment of Taiwan. In short, Congress has now provided meaningful, meaningful leverage. And here's the issue. There is no question, absolutely no question in my mind that this administration with this ambassador before us today will use it to the full extent possible. Ambassador, I support an approach that treats United States funding as leverage, not tribute. That means using our contributions, our position, and our voice to press for measurable reform in budget discipline, bureaucracy, political bias, and internal oversight. As the landscape of world power is changing under President Trump's bold leadership, regimes that are hell-bent on the destruction of freedom and basic human dignity, they're on notice now, from Tehran to Caracas, Havana to Moscow. The message is getting through that the old assumptions of impunity will no longer hold. But sadly, we have not had a UN Secretariat that has been a consistent advocate for freedom and human rights in decades. The current UN leadership, like its predecessors, predecessors, is not living up to its job description, let alone the promise of the UN Charter to promote peace and security. Actually, it's a shameful record on issues like on Iran and on Gaza that make it clear that they're not living up to their promise, their commitment. You know, the UN Charter speaks of peace and security. But institutions do not earn credibility by repeating their mission statements. They earn it, they earn it through conduct, through transparency, through neutrality, and demonstrated reform. This is the exception, unfortunately. It's a huge challenge. It's a huge challenge, and it will be a difficult undertaking. Luckily, we have one of our nation's best, brightest, and most tenacious individuals as Ambassador Waltz, again, to get this difficult job done. And yes, it takes a Floridian. Ambassador, thank you for your continued service to our country. You have, you have spent your entire adult life honorably serving this great country of ours. And thank you for your willingness to host the subcommittee here today. I look forward to hearing how you intend to use the leverage that this subcommittee provided, as well as other efforts underway to press for accountability and reform and meaningful results at the United Nations. It's now my privilege to turn to another remarkable Floridian, the ranking member of the full committee, of the, of the subcommittee, Congresswoman Frankel. You're recognized.
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