I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 895

To restore a United States voluntary contribution to the United Nations

Population Fund.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 2, 1999

Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. PORTER, Mrs.

LOWEY, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE

of Texas, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. CONYERS,

and Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To restore a United States voluntary contribution to the

United Nations Population Fund.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United Nations Popu5 lation Fund (UNFPA) Funding Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) The renewed commitment of the world com2 munity to the formulation of government policies

3 that contribute to global population stabilization and

4 to improvements in the status of women owes much

5 to the efforts of the United Nations and its special6 ized agencies and organizations, particularly the

7 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

8 (2) Over one-half of the UNFPA’s assistance is

9 devoted to maternal and child health programs, in10 cluding the provision of family planning services,

11 and it is a major supplier of modern methods of con12 traception. UNFPA also supports efforts aimed at

13 preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexu14 ally-transmitted diseases and activities aimed specifi15 cally at enhancing the status of women.

16 (3) UNFPA does not fund abortion services,

17 rather, UNFPA seeks to reduce the incidence of

18 abortion by improving access to contraceptive serv19 ices and to reduce deaths and injuries related to un20 safe abortion by supporting treatment of women suf21 fering from its complications.

22 (4) Operating in over 160 nations in all regions

23 of the world and as a politically neutral source of

24 funds, UNFPA complements the important work of
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1 the United States Agency for International Develop2 ment population assistance program.

3 (5) As a result of the withdrawal of the United

4 States contribution to UNFPA as of 1999, it is esti5 mated that 870,000 women in the developing world

6 will be deprived of effective modern contraception,

7 leading to 500,000 unintended pregnancies, 234,000

8 births, 200,000 abortions, and thousands of mater9 nal and child deaths.

10 (6) Many global environmental problems, in11 cluding water shortages, pollution, tropical deforest12 ation, and the loss of wildlife habitat are linked to

13 rapid population growth. UNFPA has assisted coun14 tries around the world plan for and slow population

15 growth, therefore reducing its effects on the environ16 ment.

17 (7) Assistance provided by UNFPA conforms to

18 the principle, affirmed at the 1994 International

19 Conference on Population and Development by 180

20 nations, including the United States, that ‘‘all cou21 ples and individuals have the basic right to decide

22 freely and responsibly the number and spacing of

23 their children and to have the information, edu24 cation, and means to do so.’’.
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1 (8) UNFPA opposes coercion in any form. All

2 of UNFPA’s programs are designed in conformity

3 with universally recognized human rights principles.

4 (9) An appropriate way to express the legiti5 mate concerns of the United States Government

6 about the population policies of the People’s Repub7 lic of China is by placing those concerns on the bi8 lateral agenda along with other important human

9 rights issues, not by singling out a United Nations

10 agency by withholding all funding thereby punishing

11 the women and families around the world who de12 pend on its humanitarian aid.

13 (10) UNFPA can and should play a construc14 tive role in helping to reduce the incidence of coer15 cive practices in China through its new country pro16 gram that aims to expand voluntarism and contra17 ceptive method choice, to strengthen a broader range

18 of reproductive health services, and to enhance the

19 status of women.

20 SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF THE UNITED STATES VOLUNTARY

21 CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS

22 POPULATION FUND.

23 In addition to amounts otherwise available to carry

24 out the purposes of chapter 3 of part 1 of the Foreign

25 Assistance Act of 1961, there are authorized to be appro-
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1 priated $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $35,000,000

2 for fiscal year 2001 to be available only for United States

3 voluntary contributions to the United Nations Population

4 Fund.

5 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON THE UNITED STATES VOLUNTARY

6 CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS

7 POPULATION FUND.

8 (a) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, of the funds appropriated for voluntary con10 tributions to the United Nations Population Fund for each

11 of the fiscal years 2000 and 2001, an amount equal to

12 the amount allocated by the United Nations Population

13 Fund for the country program in the People’s Republic

14 of China during each fiscal year shall be withheld from

15 obligation and expenditure unless during such fiscal year,

16 the President submits to the appropriate congressional

17 committees the certification described in subsection (b).

18 (b) CERTIFICATION.—The President shall certify

19 that the country program of the United Nations Popu20 lation Fund in the People’s Republic of China—

21 (1) focuses on improving the delivery of vol22 untary family planning information and services;

23 (2) is designed in conformity with the human

24 rights principles affirmed at the International Con-
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1 ference on Population and Development with the

2 support of 180 nations including the United States;

3 (3) is implemented only in counties of the Peo4 ple’s Republic of China where all quotas and targets

5 for the recruitment of program participants have

6 been abolished and the use of coercive measures has

7 been eliminated;

8 (4) is carried out in consultation with and

9 under the oversight and approval of the UNFPA ex10 ecutive board, including the United States represent11 ative;

12 (5) is subject to regular, independent monitor13 ing to ensure compliance with the principles of in14 formed consent and voluntary participation; and

15 (6) suspends operations in project counties

16 found to be in violation of program guidelines.

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