United Nations Tax Equalization Refund Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota, a former member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Ellison.

Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, H.R. 519 is wrongheaded and should be defeated. This bill cuts the United Nations Tax Equalization Refund Act as part of a gimmicky House Republican YouCut proposal.

According to the CBO, our nonpartisan official scorekeeper, H.R. 519 has absolutely no effect on the Federal budget. It saves nothing. Not a penny.

So what would this bill do if enacted? It would put urgently needed security upgrades to the United Nations headquarters at risk. This bill would undermine the protection that we are trying to provide to the people who live in New York. Haven't they suffered enough already?

In fact, the State Department has already committed $100 million from this fund to help the New York Police Department, which requests the support to secure the perimeter against terrorist threats. And these threats are serious, Madam Speaker. U.N. facilities in Iraq and Algeria have already been attacked. And I must say, Madam Speaker, this is part of an extreme agenda that is anti-United Nations from the start.

So let me just say in conclusion, often my colleague Mr. King and I don't agree, but we agree on this one 100 percent. Mr. King said, and I quite agree with him, that this bill would undermine security in New York City; it is wrong and indefensible. And I would say that I think he is absolutely right.

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