Abstract

U.N. in Congress: The Nagging Questions

Though a reading of the Congressional Record might lead one to think otherwise, money is not the crux of the current debate on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. over American participation in the proposed U.N. bond issue. Indeed, the money involved, $100 million, or half the total of the issue, comes to about .003 of the U.S. defense budget. Underlying the debate are questions about the U.N., and the evolution of its functions and procedures, which have arisen in many parts of the country. The existence of these doubts does not mean that the U.N. is undergoing a crisis of confidence on any national scale. A recent Gallup poll showed that 90 percent of Americans favor continued U.S. membership in the world body, and 83 percent believe that the United States should try to make the U.N. a success. But even among these U.N. supporters certain doubts persist, and they are reflected today in some of the congressional opposition to a bond issue designed to relieve the world body from its financial straits.