-> SNETNEWS Mailing List Job Lay-offs in U.S. But None at the U.N. House Prepares U.N. Bailout; Calls of Protest Urgently Needed Washington, D.C. - Despite broken promises and phony reforms, the House International Relations Committee is preparing on Wednesday, March 21, to vote to send $582 million to the United Nations. If approved by the full House, the money would be immediately sent to other nations that provide troops to failed and mismanaged U.N. military operations. �The American people should not be fooled by talk of a U.S. �debt� to the U.N. This is a taxpayer rip-off, pure and simple. � stated Cliff Kincaid, president of the public policy group America�s Survival. �The bailout of the world body comes at a time when the U.N. pension fund claims a positive return in 17 straight years, its assets have increased more than 39 percent over the last two years, and is now worth $25 billion. �Not bad for an organization supposedly going broke,� commented Kincaid If you want to stop the dangerous International Criminal Court and other U.N. schemes, you need to stop further U.N. funding NOW. Calls of protest have jammed International Relations Committee chairman Henry Hyde�s telephone at 1-202-225-4561. Indeed, the telephone number has been emitting a constant busy signal because of the overload of calls. But you can also call the staff office of the committee at 1-202-225-5021. This is the committee make-up: Henry J. Hyde, Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman , New York Tom Lantos , California James A. Leach , Iowa Howard L. Berman , California Doug Bereuter , Nebraska Gary L. Ackerman , New York Christopher H. Smith , New Jersey Eni F. H. Faleomavaega , AS Dan Burton , Indiana Donald M. Payne , New Jersey Elton Gallegly , California Robert Menendez , New Jersey Ileana Ros-Lehtinen , Florida Sherrod Brown , Ohio Cass Ballenger , North Carolina Cynthia A. McKinney , Georgia Dana Rohrabacher , California Alcee L. Hastings , Florida Edward R. Royce , California Earl F. Hilliard , Alabama Peter T. King , New York Brad Sherman , California Steve Chabot , Ohio Robert Wexler , Florida Amo Houghton , New York Jim Davis , Florida John M. McHugh , New York Eliot L. Engel , New York Richard Burr , North Carolina William D. Delahunt , Massachusetts John Cooksey , Louisiana Gregory W. Meeks , New York Thomas G. Tancredo , Colorado Barbara Lee , California Ron Paul , Texas Joseph Crowley , New York Nick Smith , Michigan Joseph M. Hoeffel , Pennsylvania Joseph R. Pitts , Pennsylvania Earl Blumenauer , Oregon Darrell E. Issa, California Shelley Berkley , Nevada Eric Cantor, Virginia Grace Napolitano , California Jeff Flake , Arizona Adam B. Schiff , California Brian D. Kerns, Indiana Jo Ann Davis , Virginia The U.N. financial bailout, which comes at a time of massive layoffs in the U.S. and an economic slowdown, if not recession, is being promoted on the pretext that the money is �dues� owed to the U.N. by the U.S. But Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) has demonstrated through his �U.N. Erroneous Debt Act� that it is the U.N. which actually owes the U.S. billions of dollars for peacekeeping expenses never credited or reimbursed to the U.S. Dozens of House members have co-sponsored Bartlett�s legislation and almost 200 have voted for it in the past. �If enough House members understand the nature of the U.N. �debt� issue, said Kincaid, �this bailout could still be stopped.� The money has passed the Senate under a deal brokered by Senators Jesse Helms and Joseph Biden. The U.N. is supposed to get the money in exchange for reducing the U.S. share of the U.N. operating budget from 25 to 22 percent, and the U.S. share of the peacekeeping budget from 31 to 25 percent. However, the U.N. only allowed the U.S. share of peacekeeping to decline to 26.5 percent. �They kicked us in the teeth and we�re still sending them our money,� Kincaid noted. �They�re laughing at us all the way to the bank.� The transfer is going forward despite the fact that the top budget analyst at the U.S. mission to the U.N., Linda Shenwick, has been out of her job for more than a year, having been fired by the Clinton-Gore Administration for telling Congress about corruption at the world body. Shenwick, who is seeking her old job back through legal action, says no significant reforms have been carried out at the U.N. Without Shenwick back in her job, Congress has no effective way of monitoring where the money goes. Supporting the bailout under these questionable circumstances will not look good to American taxpayers, some of whom are now losing their jobs. �But there are no lay-offs at the U.N.,� Kincaid noted. �Indeed, no one at the U.N. has lost a job under Boss Kofi Annan�s �reform� plan.� America�s Survival, Inc. 301-855-2679 FAX 301-855-3732 --- Cliff Kincaid --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- EarthLink: It's your Internet. -> To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
