No More Blank Checks: Appropriators, White House Direct UN Accountability

WASHINGTON, D.C. – From Congress to the White House, the Republican agenda has been clear: disrupting the broken status quo.

From FY26 appropriations signed into law by President Trump to the FY27 bills advanced out of the full committee, with multiple passed across the House floor, there have been fundamental shifts in how Washington does business: 

• Blank checks have been replaced by accountability.
• Wasteful programs have been replaced by disciplined, results-driven investments.
• Weakness and soft rhetoric have been replaced by decisive leadership.
• Progressive mandates and excess have been replaced by America First priorities.
• Foreign wish lists have been replaced by U.S. interests and security.

This realignment extends across the whole of government, and this week’s United Nations General Assembly brings it into focus. American foreign policy should put U.S. interests first, account for geopolitical and security realities, and distinguish genuine threats from strategic opportunities.

Those priorities are reflected in the FY26 and FY27 bills of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs (NSRP) Subcommittee that I chair. The FY26 NSRP bill – which is enacted law – cut UN funding by double digits, conditioned funds based on accountability measures, prohibited funds to UNRWA, and required UN voting records be assessed in deciding assistance to countries. The House-passed FY27 NSRP bill built on these measures with the following:

• Ending the UN Blank Check: Provides no funding for the UN regular budget. Further assessed contributions are not justified without additional reforms.
• No Resources Without Reform: The FY27 bill withholds UN and international organization funding unless entities meet transparency and accountability requirements, including public audits, U.S. access to audits, whistleblower protections, restrictions on premium travel, action against anti-Israel bias and antisemitism, disclosure of diversion, and terrorist-affiliation vetting.
• Real U.S. Oversight: American investments demand accountability. Prohibits funding to international organizations that refuse to commit in writing to giving U.S. Inspectors General and the GAO access to information relevant to American contributions.
• Peacekeeping Discipline: Sharply constrains peacekeeping funding, requires advance justification of new or expanded missions, requires mission-by-mission accountability certifications, and specifically directs the State Department and the UN to evaluate missions and consider drawdowns when their goals have been substantially achieved.
• UNRWA: Prohibits assessed and voluntary U.S. contributions to UNRWA and includes additional measures designed to discourage funding from outside donors. In addition, conditions other UN resources until the Secretary-General provides assurances against invoking immunity in terrorism, material support, and serious human-rights cases involving UN personnel.
• UN Human Rights Council and OHCHR: Prohibits funding to the UNHRC, its Israel Commission of Inquiry, and OHCHR – directly reinforcing the Trump Administration’s withdrawal and accountability policy.
• ICC and ICJ: Expressly backs the Trump Administration’s ICC sanctions and prohibits funding for the international courts.
• WHO: Prohibits funds to the World Health Organization (WHO) and blocks funding for the pandemic accord absent Senate approval.
• Curbing Liberal Climate: Directs the State Department to defend U.S. energy and commercial interests in international maritime negotiations and ensures international fuel rules do not put American producers at a disadvantage. Prohibits funds to the Green Climate Fund and Clean Technology Fund. Provides no funding for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Provisions align with the Trump Administration’s opposition to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) carbon-tax approach and broader withdrawal from international climate structures.
• Stopping Anti-Israel Bias and Antisemitism: Resources are conditioned on credible action to combat anti-Israel bias, with detailed reporting required on antisemitism and systemic bias across UN entities, personnel, experts, and procedures.
• UN Voting and Burden Sharing: Directs the State Department to weigh countries’ UN voting records and support for Taiwan when making assistance decisions. The Department is further encouraged to take into account migration cooperation, opposition to U.S. adversaries, and allied burden sharing. Countries seeking American assistance should be expected to stand with American interests and shoulder their share of the responsibility.
• Cutting Off U.S. Dollars to Adversaries: American taxpayer dollars should never bankroll our adversaries. Prohibits UN and multilateral procurement of Russian goods and services and restricts funding to international organizations chaired by Chinese Communist Party-endorsed Chinese nationals. The broader FY27 bill also prohibits funding for the PRC and Chinese Communist Party and requires opposition to multilateral development bank lending to China.
• Strengthening American Influence, Demanding Accountability: U.S. leadership at the UN should be measured by influence, not dollars spent. Calls for placing more Americans in international organizations and UN leadership positions while imposing stricter accountability and oversight requirements on institutions receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars.

President Trump has made clear his focus of making the United Nations Great Again and putting America First at the UN, and House Republican Appropriators are supporting that agenda through reinforcing investments to advance U.S. national security, economic prosperity, and strategic interests. We accomplish more while also spending less. My FY27 NSRP bill cuts $2.7 billion in unnecessary spending, building on FY26's historic 16 percent reduction while directing resources to the highest-impact priorities that strengthen America.

Through enacted NSRP measures, advancing FY27 bills, a field hearing with U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and renewed leadership through President Trump and the Executive Branch, all levers are being used to restore discipline, enforce consequences, and promote freedom. The President 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 House Republicans are driving that reset into motion.

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