I've Asked My Congresswoman, Nan Hayworth (R-NY-19), To Look Into Why Speaker John Boehner Didn't Vote

Why would Speaker of the House John Boehner sit out a vote on H.R. 519, the United Nations Tax Equalization Refund Act of 2011, authored and submitted by House Committee for Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)?

O.K., folks... here's the story in newsbite form:

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is the author of legislation being considered on the House floor tomorrow calling for the United Nations to refund to the U.S. Treasury $179 million overpaid by the U.S. into the United Nations Tax Equalization Fund (TEF).

BACKGROUND: The U.S. reimburses the UN for any income taxes imposed on U.S. nationals who are employees of the UN via payments into the UN Tax Equalization Fund. Currently, the U.S. has overpaid into that fund by the approximate amount of $179 million dollars. Although in prior years any overpayment would be applied towards the amount owed by the U.S. for its assessed UN contributions, in recent years the excess has simply accumulated. The administration is now considering allowing the UN to use the excess money to fund security enhancements at the UN complex in New York.

“The $179 million extra that the U.S. paid into the UN Tax Equalization fund should be refunded to the American people immediately."

“The UN and the Administration are treating this overpayment like found money, but it’s not. The UN itself admits that the $179 million surplus is ‘payable to the United States of America pending instructions as to its disposition."

"[I]nstead of instructing the UN to give us our money back, [Obama's] State Department [under the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton] wants Americans to foot the entire $100 million bill for security upgrades at UN headquarters."

OUTRAGEOUS. OUTRAGEOUS AND DISGUSTING.

“This bill to refund the $179 million to the U.S. Treasury is about taking a small step toward restoring sanity to our UN policy and government spending. The American people have demanded just that from their elected representatives. This legislation is a step in the right direction.”

*FOLLOW-UP*

“Today, the [Obama administration's] excuse for opposing a bill that would have refunded to the American people $179 million overpaid into a controversial UN fund was ‘sorry, we already let the UN spend most of that.’ In other words, instead of receiving a refund, the American people are now being forced to give the United Nations a $100 million dollar gift card."

I SAY REMOVE AT LEAST $100 MILLION FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET.

“Congress and the American people were kept in the dark about what was happening with the extra money paid into this account. Now that people are rightly outraged that the surplus has been diverted, the Administration is arguing that the money was needed for immediate security upgrades for the UN. Where does it end? The UN owes U.S. taxpayers millions in over-payments for UN peacekeeping. Will that also be used up to bailout the UN?"

IF OBAMA AND CLINTON HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT... YES!

“If the Administration is willing to let the UN keep money that we accidentally overpaid, how can we expect them to ever get behind the serious spending cuts that the American people are demanding?”

GOOD FRIGG'N QUESTION, NO?

“This is not about the UN finally doing the right thing and paying for security upgrades at its headquarters in New York. The UN is not paying for anything. After years of avoiding its responsibilities, the UN, with the support of the Obama Administration, is asking the American taxpayer to bail them out once again and pay 100% of the proposed construction costs. To make matters worse, allowing the UN to take $100 million of the refund owed to U.S. taxpayers would be an increase for the UN budget."

NOTE: Ros-Lehtinen is the author of H.R. 519, the United Nations Tax Equalization Refund Act of 2011. This bill would have refunded to the U.S. Treasury $179 million in funds overpaid into the UN Tax Equalization Fund. In last week’s YouCut vote, the American people overwhelmingly voted for the proposal calling for the funds to be returned. Earlier today, the House voted 259-169 in favor of H.R. 519, but the bill failed to receive the two-thirds majority vote required for passage under suspension of the rules.

*POSTSCRIPT*

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN DEMOCRATS VOTED TO ALLOW THE UN TO KEEP THE OVERPAYMENT. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN DEMOCRATS VOTED TO ESSENTIALLY BORROW MONEY FROM CHINA AND ELSEWHERE - AT INTEREST - TO MAKE UP FOR THE $179 MILLION BARAK OBAMA AND HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON BASICALLY GAVE TO THE UN WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY. (ALL SPENDING BILL MUST BE INITIATED IN THE HOUSE... ETC.)

TWO RINOs - PETER KING (NY-3) AND MIKE GRIMM (NY-13) - VOTED WITH THE DEMOCRATS TO ALLOW THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO SPEND $179 MILLION THAT WAS NOT AUTHORIZED TO BE SPENT BY CONGRESS.

FOR WHATEVER REASONS (I'M GUESSING THEY WERE OUT OF TOWN) THE FOLLOWING REPUBLICANS DID NOT VOTE: SPENCER BACHUS (AL-6), BRIAN BILBRAY (CA-50), LOUIE GOHMERT (TX-1), AND... (AND THIS IS INTERESTING!) JOHN BOEHNER (OH-8).