United Nations Accountability Act of 1997

Summary: United Nations Accountability Act of 1997 - Prohibits the payment of arrearages of U.S. contributions to the United Nations (UN) until the President certifies to, and a joint resolution is approved by, the Congress that the UN has implemented specified reforms, including:  (1) a reformulation of the assessed U.S. payment to the UN; (2) implementation of a code of conduct for UN employees; (3) strengthening of the powers of the Office of Inspector General of the UN; (4) reform of the UN grievance system to permit UN employees to hire outside counsel; (5) implementation of certain reforms to UN procurement procedures; (6) whistleblower protection for UN employees; (7) adoption of a no growth biennial budget; (8) acceptable downsizing; (9) a freeze on UN employee salaries; (10) making the eight member states with the highest contributions to the UN permanent members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions; (11) providing access by Budget Committee member states to certain expenditure documents; (12) requiring an annual review and reauthorization of any peacekeeping missions by the UN Security Council; (13) UN reimbursement for Department of Defense contributions to UN peacekeeping missions; (14) satisfaction of U.S. arrearages in contributions to the UN; (15) allowance of all member states to be nominated to the Security Council; (16) abandonment of UN efforts to establish an international tax; and (17) UN noninterference with any people's religion, moral values, culture, or traditions.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United Nations Accountability Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF PAYMENT OF ARREARAGES TO UNITED NATIONS.

    Until a certification by the President of reforms in the United 
Nations under section 3 is transmitted to the Congress and the 
certification is approved by the Congress through enactment of a joint 
resolution in accordance with section 4, and notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, funds appropriated or otherwise made available for 
any fiscal year under ``Contributions to International Organizations'', 
``Contributions for International Peacekeeping'', or any other account 
shall not be available for the payment of any assessed contribution of 
the United States for prior years to the United Nations.

SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF UNITED NATIONS REFORMS.

    The certification referred to in section 2 is a certification (with 
supporting documentation) by the President to the Congress that the 
United Nations has implemented all of the following reforms:
            (1) Assessed payment reformulation.--
                    (A) The assessed payment of the United States to 
                the United Nations for each year has been lowered to 20 
                percent of the budget of the United Nations, or
                    (B) The United Nations has reformulated each member 
                state's assessed level to reflect each state's share of 
                the total world gross national product.
            (2) Code of conduct.--The United Nations has implemented a 
        code of conduct for all employees of the United Nations. The 
        code of conduct shall specify that no United Nations official, 
        including the Secretary General, shall be permitted to engage 
        in business activities outside the United Nations, or provide 
        any relative with access to United Nations procurement 
        contracts, or take bribes, directly or indirectly, from 
        individuals or corporations doing business with the United 
        Nations or from United Nations member states or their 
        representatives.
            (3) Inspector general of the united nations.--The Office of 
        Inspector General of the United Nations has been strengthened 
        as follows:
                    (A) The United Nations has a truly independent 
                office of inspector general to conduct and supervise 
                objective audits, inspections, and investigations 
                relating to programs and operations of the United 
                Nations. The office shall be financed under a separate 
                line item in the budget of the United Nations and shall 
                function independently of the Secretary General.
                    (B) The United Nations has an inspector general who 
                is selected and elected by the General Assembly for a 
                term of 3 years and whose appointment was made 
                principally on the basis of the appointee's integrity 
                and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, 
                financial analysis, law, management analysis, public 
                administration, or investigation. The inspector general 
                may be removed only for cause by the Secretary General 
                with the approval of the General Assembly.
                    (C) The inspector general is authorized to--
                            (i) make investigations and reports 
                        relating to the administration of the programs 
                        and operations of the United Nations;
                            (ii) have access to all relevant records, 
                        documents, and other available materials 
                        relating to those programs and operations; and
                            (iii) have direct and prompt access to any 
                        official of the United Nations.
                    (D) The United Nations has fully implemented, and 
                made available to all member states, procedures 
                designed to protect the identity of, and prevent 
                reprisals against, any employee of the United Nations 
                making a complaint or disclosing information to, or 
                cooperating in any investigation or inspection by, the 
                inspector general.
                    (E) The United Nations has fully implemented 
                procedures designed to ensure compliance with 
                recommendations of the inspector general.
                    (F) The United Nations has required the inspector 
                general to issue an annual report and has ensured that 
                the annual report and all other relevant reports of the 
                inspector general are made available to the member 
                governments of the United Nations General Assembly 
                without modification.
                    (G) The United Nations is committed to providing 
                sufficient budgetary resources to ensure the effective 
                operation of the office of the inspector general.
            (4) Employee protection.--The existing United Nations 
        grievance system has been thoroughly reformed to permit United 
        Nations employees to hire outside counsel for taking their 
        grievances up the United Nations grievance ladder to the top 
        United Nations grievance appeals level. It should also be made 
        amply clear for civil lawyers and judges in each member state 
        that United Nations officials' immunity from civil process 
        applies only to actions performed in the strict fulfillment of 
        United Nations official duties and never to abuses in violation 
        of an extensive United Nations code of conduct, United Nations 
        employees having the right and option in such cases any time to 
        exit the United Nations grievance process and sue in a civil 
        court.
            (5) Procurement reforms.--
                    (A) The United Nations has implemented a system 
                requiring at least 30 days prior notification for the 
                submission of all qualified bid proposals on all United 
                Nations procurement opportunities of more than $100,000 
                and a public announcement of the award of any contract 
                of more than $100,000 (except in justified and 
                documented emergencies).
                    (B) To the extent practicable, notifications and 
                announcements under subparagraph (A) are made in the 
                Commerce Business Daily.
                    (C) The procurement regulations of the United 
                Nations prohibit punitive actions such as the 
                suspension of contract eligibility for contractors who 
                challenge contract awards or complain about delayed 
                payments.
            (6) Whistleblower protection.--The United Nations has 
        implemented whistleblower protection for employees of the 
        United Nations that--
                    (A) protects employees who allege or report 
                instances of fraud or mismanagement, and
                    (B) the independent Office of the Inspector General 
                has reviewed the policies and regulations under 
                subparagraph (A) and determined, in writing, that they 
                offer adequate safeguards against retaliation for such 
                employees, and that the United Nations employee 
                grievance system outlined in paragraph (4)(C)(ii) has 
                been reformed and the reforms implemented.
            (7) No growth budget.--The United Nations has adopted a 
        calendar year 2000-2001 biennial budget that requires no 
        nominal growth, in dollars, in expenditures.
            (8) Downsizing.--The United Nations has continued to 
        downsize the number of authorized employment positions, 
        including a reduction of not less than 10 percent in the number 
        of full-time permanent authorized employment positions from 
the number of such positions authorized on January 1, 1997. Acceptable 
downsizing may not include early detachment from United Nations service 
with full pay until retirement age is reached, nor may it include the 
hiring of consultants to replace employees detached early with full pay 
or those replaced by temporary employees on short-term contracts.
            (9) Salaries.--The United Nations has imposed a freeze on 
        salaries of employees of the United Nations which allows only 
        for annual increases not greater than any annual increase in 
        the United States consumer price index.
            (10) Representation on advisory committee on administrative 
        and budget questions.--The 8 member states which are the 
        highest contributors to the budget of the United Nations shall 
        be permanent members of the Advisory Committee on 
        Administrative and Budget Questions.
            (11) Access to documents.--Require access by any member 
        state of the United Nations Budget Committee (also known as the 
        Fifth Committee) to any document concerning any United Nations 
        program that involves expenditures.
            (12) Annual reauthorization of peace-keeping missions.--The 
        United Nations requires an annual review and reauthorization of 
        any peacekeeping missions by the United Nations Security 
        Council.
            (13) Reimbursement for united states department of defense 
        peacekeeping expenditures.--The United Nations has reimbursed 
        the United States Department of Defense for voluntary 
        contributions to United Nations peacekeeping missions and the 
        United Nations and the United States have entered into an 
        agreement that calls for United Nations reimbursement for any 
        future voluntary contributions by the United States Department 
        of Defense, whether they be financial, logistical, or material.
            (14) United states arrearages.--The United Nations and the 
        United States have mutually determined an amount that will 
        satisfy any and all arrearages of the United States in assessed 
        contributions for prior years.
            (15) Nominations to security council.--All member states of 
        the United Nations belong to a regional group that allows each 
        member state to be nominated to the Security Council.
            (16) United nations taxes.--The United Nations has 
        abandoned any effort to establish an international tax or any 
        other international fee or assessment imposed by the United 
        Nations (other than the assessed contributions of member states 
        of the United Nations and associated organs).
            (17) Noninterference with religious belief, culture, or 
        tradition.--Neither the United Nations nor any affiliated 
        agency or entity is engaged in any program or activity that 
        threatens to interfere with the religion, moral values, 
        culture, or traditions of any person or group, except insofar 
        as is strictly necessary for the protection of fundamental and 
        internationally recognized human rights.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF PRESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATION.

    (a) Terms of the Resolution.--For purposes of section 2, the term 
``joint resolution'' means only a joint resolution which is enacted 
within the 30-legislative day period beginning on the date on which the 
President transmits the certification (and supporting documentation) to 
the Congress under this Act, and--
            (1) which does not have a preamble;
            (2) the matter after the resolving clause of which is as 
        follows: ``That Congress approves the certification of the 
        President regarding reforms in the United Nations.''; and
            (3) the title of which is as follows: ``Joint resolution 
        approving the certification of the President regarding reforms 
        in the United Nations.''.
    (b) Referral.--A resolution described in subsection (a) that is 
introduced in the House of Representatives shall be referred to the 
Committee on International Relations and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives. A resolution described 
in subsection (a) introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of 
the Senate.
    (c) Discharge.--If the committee to which a resolution described in 
subsection (a) is referred has not reported such resolution (or an 
identical resolution) by the end of the 15 legislative-day period 
beginning on the date on which the President transmits the 
certification to the Congress under section 2, such committee shall be, 
at the end of such period, discharged from further consideration of 
such resolution, and such resolution shall be placed on the appropriate 
calendar of the House involved.
    (d) Consideration.--(1) On or after the third legislative day after 
the date on which the committee to which such a resolution is referred 
has reported, or has been discharged (under subsection (c)) from 
further consideration of, such a resolution, it is in order (even 
though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) for 
any Member of the respective House to move to proceed to the 
consideration of the resolution. A Member may make the motion only on 
the legislative day after the legislative day on which the Member 
announces to the House concerned the Member's intention to make the 
motion, except that, in the case of the House of Representatives, the 
motion may be made without such prior announcement if the motion is 
made by direction of the committee to which the resolution was 
referred. All points of order against the resolution (and against 
consideration of the resolution) are waived. The motion is highly 
privileged in the House of Representatives and is privileged in the 
Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not subject to amendment, or 
to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration 
of other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 
is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to 
proceed to the consideration of the resolution is agreed to, the 
respective House shall immediately proceed to consideration of the 
joint resolution without intervening motion, order, or other business, 
and the resolution shall remain the unfinished business of the 
respective House until disposed of.
    (2) Debate on the resolution, and on all debatable motions and 
appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 
hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 
opposing the resolution. An amendment to the resolution is not in 
order. A motion further to limit debate is in order and not debatable. 
A motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
other business, or a motion to recommit the resolution is not in order. 
A motion to reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed to or 
disagreed to is not in order.
    (3) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate on a 
resolution described in subsection (a) and a single quorum call at the 
conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of 
the appropriate House, the vote on final passage of the resolution 
shall occur.
    (4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
application of the rules of the Senate or the House of Representatives, 
as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a resolution described 
in subsection (a) shall be decided without debate.
    (e) Consideration by Other House.--(1) If, before the passage by 
one House of a resolution of that House described in subsection (a), 
that House receives from the other House a resolution described in 
subsection (a), then the following procedures shall apply:
            (A) The resolution of the other House shall not be referred 
        to a committee and may not be considered in the House receiving 
        it except in the case of final passage as provided in 
        subparagraph (B)(ii).
            (B) With respect to a resolution described in subsection 
        (a) of the House receiving the resolution--
                    (i) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no resolution had been received from the other 
                House; but
                    (ii) the vote on final passage shall be on the 
                resolution of the other House.
    (2) Upon disposition of the resolution received from the other 
House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the resolution that 
originated in the receiving House.
    (f) Rules of the Senate and House.--This section is enacted by 
Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is 
        deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but 
        applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in 
        that House in the case of a resolution described in subsection 
        (a), and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it 
        is inconsistent with such rules; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and 
        to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that 
        House.
    (g) Legislative Day Defined.--For the purposes of this section, the 
term ``legislative day'' means any calendar day other than a day on 
which either House is not in session.