Harold Rogers: “the question here is fairness, purely and simply. Why not treat us fairly? Do not be fooled. We are paying twice to the…”

“the question here is fairness, purely and simply. Why not treat us fairly? Do not be fooled. We are paying twice to the United Nations for these peacekeeping operations. Number one, we are paying three times, almost, what Japan pays in outright assessments, 31.7 percent. Almost four times what Germany pays. Not only that, but then we send our aircraft carriers to the scene or we send our planes to the scene and incur these exorbitant extra costs on top of that. We are told that this year alone that is $1.5 billion, so we are paying 31.7 percent of the total cost. Then on top of that, we are paying another $1.5 billion in logistical support. What is fair? The true cost to the American taxpayer this year, 1994, for peacekeeping is really $2.7 billion. Now, we are not just talking about chicken feed anymore, Mr. Chairman. We used to be, in 1988. But look at the growth in the assessed cost for U.N. peacekeeping over the years. Here is 1988. Here is 1994, estimated, and still going on up. We are involved now in 19 peacekeeping missions in the world, and we are paying much more than a third of the cost. I do not think that is fair.”