House Foreign Affairs Committee 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican
 


For Immediate Release 
July 20, 2009 Contact:  Brad Goehner, (202) 226-8467
Alex Cruz, (202) 225-8200
  


  
Ros-Lehtinen Introduces Legislation to Refund U.S. Taxpayer Dollars Spent on Durban II Conference;
Bill Also Prevents U.S. Funds from Bankrolling Future Biased Forums
  

   (WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the Durban Taxpayer Refund Act (H.R. 3231), which would refund U.S. taxpayer dollars spent by the United Nations on this past April’s Durban Review Conference (Durban II), and prevent U.S. funds from being used for future hate-filled forums.  Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:  
“Durban II is over, but make no mistake – the rogue regimes that hijacked that conference will continue to fuel bias and undermine real efforts to address intolerance. 
“The UN spent hard-earned American taxpayer dollars to fund a confab that did nothing to stop racism.  Instead, it propagated anti-U.S., anti-Israel, anti-freedom bias.
“Congress should act now to refund U.S. taxpayer dollars spent on Durban II, and to ensure that Americans do not foot the bill for a Durban III or other future hate-fests.
“Human rights are too important – we must reaffirm our commitment to them and explore credible, effective alternatives to combat bigotry.”
Note:  The Durban Taxpayer Refund Act (H.R. 3231) would withhold U.S. contributions to the UN regular budget equal to the U.S. share of regular budget funding for the Durban II Conference, and return those funds to the Treasury.  The UN spent over $2 million from its regular budget (to which the U.S. pays an assessed contribution of 22 percent) on Durban II and its preparatory and follow-on activities.  The bill would also condition U.S. funding for future multilateral forums on a case-by-case certification by the Secretary of State that each forum was not used to propagate hatred or bias.