Floyd Spence: “I rise in strong support of the Gingrich amendment sponsored by the Republican leadership, myself, and Mr. Gilman which…”

“I rise in strong support of the Gingrich amendment sponsored by the Republican leadership, myself, and Mr. Gilman which will be incorporated in today's en bloc package of amendments. The amendment prohibits the use of Department of Defense funds to pay for the assessed share to the United States of United Nations peacekeeping operations. First and foremost, this amendment is an important statement of principle on behalf of maintaining the integrity of the defense budget by explicitly rejecting the centerpiece of the Clinton administration's controversial new peacekeeping blueprint--PDD-25. Since the inception of the United Nations and the establishment of the first U.N. peacekeeping operation in the Middle East in 1948, the United States has funded its share of peacekeeping costs through the Department of State. House adoption of the Gingrich amendment simply means we ought to continue paying these costs out of the State Department's budget.”