Should U.S. Funding for Multilateral Entities (Like the UN) Be Reviewed? (H.R. 2299)

What is H.R. 2299?

(Updated September 2, 2019)

This bill — the Multilateral Aid Review Act of 2019 — would establish a review process for U.S. foreign aid dollars going to multilateral entities. To this end, it would establish the United States Multilateral Aid Review Task Force, comprised of senior agency officials from relevant departments of the federal government, to publicly assess the value of U.S. government investments in multilateral entities, such as the United Nations or the World Bank.

The review would include multilateral entities to which the U.S. government contributes voluntary or assessed funding, whether cash or in-kind. Its objectives would be to:

• Provide a tool to guide the U.S. government’s decision making and prioritization with regard to funding multilateral entities;
  
• Provide a methodological basis for prioritizing funding for entities that advance relevant U.S. foreign policy objectives;
  
• Incentivizing improvements to multilateral entities’ performance in achieving better outcomes on the ground in developing, fragile and crisis-affected regions; and
  
• Protecting U.S. taxpayers’ investments in foreign assistance by improving transparency with regard to multilateral entities’ funding.
  

For each multilateral entity that receives U.S. government funding, the review would provide an assessment scorecard evaluating:

• The extent to which the entity met its stated mission, goals and objectives during the review period;
  
• The quality of the entity’s management;
  
• The extent to which the entity's policies and procedures followed best practices for accountability and transparency during the review period;
  
• The extent to which the entity’s policies and practices align with relevant U.S. foreign policy objectives; and
  
• The extent to which the entity’s mission, goals and objectives overlap with the mission, goals and objectives of other multilateral institutions that also receive U.S. government funding.
  

Argument in favor

Despite making contributions to multilateral entities for decades, the U.S. has never conducted a thorough audit of its contributions to these organizations. It’s time to conduct an audit to ensure that the U.S. is spending its money funding these organizations effectively and aligning its multilateral entity funding with its foreign policy goals.

Argument opposed

Budgets across the federal government are already published and subject to Congressional approval — so information about U.S. funding of multilateral agencies is already publicly available. There’s no need for this bill. If anyone wants to know how much the U.S. is spending across all multilateral agencies, they can simply do the math themselves.

Impact

U.S. government funding for multilateral entities; senior agency officials from relevant federal government departments; and multilateral entities that receive U.S. government funding.

Cost of H.R. 2299

When this bill was introduced in the 115th Congress, the CBO estimated that implementing it would cost less than $500,000 each year and total $1 million over the 2018-2022 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) reintroduced this bill from the 115th Congress to establish a review process for U.S. foreign aid dollars going to multilateral entities:

“Our country has spent billions of taxpayer dollars supporting multilateral agencies, such as the United Nations. While this funding is vital, it is important that those who receive U.S. foreign assistance are managing it effectively. However, years of inept leadership at various agencies have diminished the effectiveness of many programs across the globe. I believe we can, and we must do better, and that is why I am proud to introduce this legislation. I believe it is in our nation’s best interest to provide increased transparency of our foreign aid investments and I encourage my colleagues to join me as cosponsors of this important legislation.”

Rep. Buck’s office contends that the review process this bill establishes would give Congress transparency into U.S. contributions to multilateral entities and incentivize such entities to improve their outcomes by improving themselves.

The Engaging America’s Global Leadership (EAGL) Coalition, an organization representing 26 industry manufacturing associations, expressed its support for this bill in the 115th Congress. Linda Dempsey, Vice President of International Economic Affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), one of EAGL’s member organizations, said:

“The Multilateral Aid Review Act is an essential first step towards greater accountability and transparency at international institutions. At a time when budgets are tight and discussions about global institutions abound, everyday Americans believe in the need for engagement but want to know that their interests are being protected. This act ensures that taxpayer funds are being responsibly allocated and highlights investments in international institutions that work — and those that are not in line with U.S. foreign and economic policy. It adds a level of accountability, both at home and abroad, that is definitely needed to ensure the nation's economic interests are furthered.”

This bill has one cosponsor, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), in the 116th Congress. Last Congress, it was sponsored by Rep. McCaul with the support of two bipartisan House cosponsors (one from each party) and didn’t receive a committee vote. A Senate companion bill last Congress, sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), had seven bipartisan cosponsors (four Democrats and three Republicans) and passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but didn’t receive a full Senate vote.

Last Congress, this bill had the support of the EAGL Coalition and the National Association of Manufacturers (including the American Apparel & Footwear Association, Advanced Medical Technology Association, Grocery Manufacturers Association and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association).

Of Note:

According to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), who sponsored this bill in the House in the 115th Congress, U.S. government agencies collectively spent over $10 billion on funding multilateral entities in FY 2016.

Historically, the U.S. has been a leader in creating and using multilateral institutions to advance its development priorities around the world. Along with its allies, the U.S. played a major role in organizing much of the current multilateral development system, including the World Bank Group, UN agencies working on humanitarian and development challenges, and GAVI (the Vaccine Initiative). Despite this long history of investments in multilateral institutions, the U.S. has yet to conduct a comprehensive multilateral aid review.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate (115th Congress)
  
• Engaging America’s Global Leadership (EAGL) Coalition Letter (In Favor, 115th Congress)
  
• National Association of Manufacturers Letter (In Favor, 115th Congress)
  
• Brookings Institution Report (Context)