Dick Lugar: “my amendment calls for payment of our obligations to the United Nations to the extent of $819 million over 2 years…”

“my amendment calls for payment of our obligations to the United Nations to the extent of $819 million over 2 years without conditions; $658 million of that is owed to our friends and our allies for peacekeeping operations and expenses they undertook and for which we voted. We have a contractual obligation to pay. Our effectiveness in bringing about reforms in dealing with NATO expansion, in dealing with a host of international trade issues depends upon our credibility with our friends. It is not an argument in favor of reform that unilaterally we decide not to pay or send our payments to other nations but insist on some with 38 conditions in 18 pages of agate type before we allocate the money. We have a straightforward vote, Mr. President. I believe it is the right thing to do. I think it is the most effective thing to do in terms of American diplomacy.”