The White House budget office has proposed scrapping funding for United Nations peacekeeping missions, citing failures by operations in Mali, Lebanon and Democratic Republic of Congo.
DAILY POST reports that the United States is the UN's largest contributor, with China second, accounting for 22% of the $3.7 billion core regular UN budget and 27% of the $5.6 billion peacekeeping budget.
The proposed peacekeeping reductions are included in a “Passback,” the response by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, to State Department funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on October 1.
The overall plan wants to slash the State Department budget by about half.
The new budget must have the approval of the Congress, and lawmakers could decide to restore some or all of the funding the administration has proposed cutting.
The State Department was due to respond to the OMB proposal on Tuesday.
It will be recalled that during US President Donald Trump's first term, he proposed cutting about a third of diplomacy and aid budgets.
However, Congress, which sets the federal government budget, pushed back on Trump's proposal.
When asked about the OMB proposals, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday that there is no final plan, final budget.
Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget has proposed ending Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities, CIPA.
