By: Savannah Smith | 03-14-2017 | News
Photo credit: The Goldwater

Trump To Cut U.S. Funding To The UN By More Than Half

The White House will release its 2018 budget proposal on Thursday. It will include a 37% cut to the budgets of the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID).

There are reports that the Trump administration will also cut U.S. funding to the United Nations (UN) by more than 50%.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson can choose how to carry out the big cuts to the UN funding over the next three years.

The U.S. gives around $10 billion yearly to the UN. The new budget cuts will affect peacekeeping, the UN development program and UNICEF, which are funded by State's Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

It is not yet clear if the budget cut will also affect popular programs like the World Food Programme and the UN refugee operations. The U.S. gave $1.5 billion to the UN refugee program last year which has a total budget of $4 billion.

The Trump administration is thinking of cutting humanitarian aid programs by 36%.

U.S. diplomats have already told UN members to expect the budget cuts in a meeting on March 9 in New York City.

Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the budget cuts may mean trouble if true. He said it could lead to a breakdown of the international humanitarian system as we know it.

Donors from Europe, Japan, and South Korea who also give big money to the UN have been told of US funding cuts.

Trump is serious about cutting spending in a lot of areas to use the money instead for the U.S. military. The administration is planning to cut $54 billion in spending.

Making the military stronger is Trump's top priority. Trump also said he represents America as its President. He does not represent the world.

Source:

http://thehill.com/policy/international/un-treaties/323781-trump-wants-un-funds-cut-over-50-percent-report

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