Dick Lugar: “I ask Senators to oppose the Biden amendment. I appreciate the perspective of Senators who want to preserve the…”

“I ask Senators to oppose the Biden amendment. I appreciate the perspective of Senators who want to preserve the 27-percent cap, as well as those who want the cap to be reduced to the 25-percent level in accordance with the Helms-Biden legislation. In offering this amendment, I am attempting to represent the views of those Senators who believe that forthcoming discussions on U.N. reform should include additional consideration of U.S. financial obligations for peacekeeping. This is a reasonable expectation given the reform context at the United Nations. Since our committee marked up this bill, John Bolton has been announced as the President's nominee to be Ambassador to the U.N., and Secretary General Kofi Annan has put forward a sweeping U.N. reform plan. Clearly, U.N. reform is going to be high on the agenda. The Helms- Biden legislation anticipates that the U.S. share of peacekeeping dues would decline to 25 percent of the world total. This remains a goal of U.S. policy toward the United Nations. I believe we should give the U.S. negotiators the most leverage possible to attain U.S. goals. It has been suggested that the 27-percent agreement struck subsequent to the Helms-Biden legislation is the best we can do. Many Senators assert this is true, particularly since we are entering a period when substantial reform negotiations will take place at the U.N.…”