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Title III — Transparency and Accountability for United States Contributions to the United Nations

H.R. 7939 · 116th Congress · Aug 4, 2020 · Lineage

III Transparency and Accountability for United States Contributions to the United Nations

Sec. 301 Findings

Congress finds the following:
(1)
As underscored by repeated revelations of waste, fraud, and abuse, oversight and accountability mechanisms within the United Nations system remain deficient, despite decades of reform attempts, including those initiated by Secretaries General of the United Nations.
(2)
Notwithstanding the personal intentions of any Secretary General of the United Nations to promote institutional transparency and accountability within the United Nations system, the Secretary General lacks the power to impose far reaching management reforms without the concurrence of the General Assembly.
(3)
The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is tasked with providing transparency and accountability to Member States.
(4)
The United States successfully led efforts within the General Assembly to expand OIOS, resulting in increased independence of the office and an enhanced ability to expose fraud, waste, abuse, and other misconduct.
(5)
However, to an unacceptable degree, major donor states, including the United States, lack access to reasonably detailed, reliable information on the use of funding made available through single-country trust funds, as well as the outcomes and results stemming from United Nations activities that would allow them to determine the overall performance of the United Nations system.

Sec. 302 Annual report on financial contributions

Subsection (b) of section 4 of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 (22 U.S.C. 287b) is amended—
(1)
by striking “Not later than” and inserting the following:

“(1) In general—Not later than”

(2)
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

“(2) Contents—Each report required under this subsection shall set forth, for the fiscal year covered by such report, information relating to the following:

“(A) The total amount of all United States contributions to international organizations in which the United States participates as a member.

“(B) The approximate percentage of United States contributions to each international organization, when compared with all contributions to any such international organization, from any source.

“(C) For each such United States contribution, information relating to the following:

“(i) The amount of such contribution.

“(ii) A description of such contribution (including whether assessed or voluntary).

“(iii) The department or agency of the United States Government responsible for such contribution.

“(iv) The purpose of such contribution.

“(v) An identification of the international organization, receiving such contribution.

“(3) Public availability of information—Not later than 14 days after submitting each report required under this subsection, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall post a public version of such report on a text-based, searchable, and publicly available internet website.”