Vitter, Barrasso, Inhofe Introduce Bill to Prohibit Unlawful Legitimization of Palestine as a State

Press Release

U.S. Senators David Vitter (R-La.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the Limiting Contributions to the United Nations and Affiliated Organizations that Accord the Palestine Liberation Organization the Same Standing as Member States Act.

In accordance with Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1994, the Senators' bill would require the Secretary of State to review and stop any American taxpayer dollars from going to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the Green Climate Fund (GCF), if it does not comply with existing federal requirements. Current law prohibits funding to the UN or its affiliated organizations if they allow full membership status to certain groups that the United States does not recognize as a sovereign state, including the Palestinians. Recently, the UNFCCC accepted the "State of Palestine" as a full member, and the State Department has refused to enforce current law.

"The law is crystal clear: we do not send American taxpayer dollars to the UN and its affiliated organizations if they recognize an unofficial nation state, but Secretary of State Kerry is setting a very dangerous precedent by putting the Obama Administration's political environmental agenda ahead of U.S. law," said Vitter. "Ignoring reality does not give the Obama Administration a free pass to send billions of taxpayer dollars to the Green Climate Fund and the UNFCCC, of which the "State of Palestine' is becoming a full member. My bill will demand accountability and ensure the federal government upholds the law."

"The Obama administration has a long history of conveniently not following the law," said Barrasso. "The UNFCCC is clearly an international organization. There is no gray area in the law. U.S. funding for this U.N. organization must stop immediately."

"With the UNFCCC decision to formally recognize the "State of Palestine,' U.S. law rightfully prevents the Obama administration from funding their associated activities with U.S. taxpayer dollars. The president does not get to pick and choose which laws he will abide by and Sen. Vitter's bill is a necessary step to ensure that the administration follows the letter of the law. International peace should not be undermined by irrational commitment to the president's climate change agenda," said Inhofe.

On March 17, 2016, the UNFCCC allowed the "State of Palestine" to formally join as a full member. The United States does not recognize the "State of Palestine," and as such, current law dictates that U.S. taxpayer funds shall not go toward the UNFCCC or any of its related entities.

It is clear that the UNFCCC and its affiliated subsidiary entities should be covered under U.S. law, including the GCF, which was established by the UNFCCC in 2011 and is the principal depository for U.S. funding requirement for the Paris Agreement that Secretary of State John Kerry signed on April 22, 2016. In 2015, the Obama Administration introduced the Clean Power Plan in order to meet the requirements required under the Paris Agreement, and President Obama has pledged to contribute at least $3 billion as a down payment to the GCF. Recently, the State Department indicated that related funds would not be impacted by UNFCCC's acceptance of the "State of Palestine." The Vitter-Barrasso-Inhofe bill would ensure the U.S. government will stop all funding for the UNFCCC and GCF after March 17, 2016.

In March 2016, Senators Vitter, Barrasso, Inhofe and 19 other Senators sent a letter to Senate appropriators, urging them to ensure no U.S. taxpayer dollars go to the GCF. On April 18, 2016, Senators Vitter, Barrasso, and Inhofe sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, along with 25 other Senators, requesting that the Obama Administration follow the law and prohibit funding for the UNFCCC and its related entities.

On April 22, the State Department responded stating that Palestinians' purported accession to the UNFCCC does not involve their becoming members of any UN agency or international organization. However, the official Directory of United Nations System Organizations lists the UNFCCC as a "U.N. System Organizations and Entities," clearly delineating it as a body or specialized agency of the UN under Articles 57 and 22 of the UN Charter.

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