Congress must act to reform UN and other rogue international institutions

"Congress is actively engaged in budget discussions to fund our government for the 2018 fiscal year. And a broader debate about how the America should engage with global institutions is needed. The U.S. government and stakeholders now have a real opportunity to work toward concrete reforms at the global institutions we support.

Recent polling shows that most Americans believe in the important role of these international organizations that the United States helped create, such as the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)...

But they also want government to defend American interests and promote more accountable outcomes from them. The frustration among voters, government officials, and the private sector who have long supported U.S. engagement will continue to grow unless effectively addressed by leadership at these organizations.

Americans' frustrations over these institutions stem from failures of accountability and transparency -- repeated process fouls that fuel harmful initiatives and policy recommendations that are not based on sound science or good regulatory practice.

What's more, their activities often stretch far beyond their agencies' core missions, negatively affecting U.S. interests, industries and workers while still failing to propose or accomplish sustainable global solutions...

These problems show no sign of abating. The United States must take a new approach to ensure we are receiving the greatest value for our participation in global institutions...At the same time, global institutions like the U.N. and OECD must realize that the time for platitudes is over, and that we must begin seeing concrete steps toward necessary reforms soon..."