The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which began operations in 1969 as the U.N. Fund for Population Activities, is the world's largest source of population and reproductive health programs and the principal unit within the United Nations for global population issues. In 2009, the organization provided services in 155 developing and transition countries, with funds totaling $783.1 million, drawn exclusively from voluntary contributions made by governments and some foundations. In the past three decades, there has been continuing and contentious debate within the United States, and especially among Members of Congress, as to whether the United States should financially contribute to UNFPA. The debate has centered on the extent to which, if any, UNFPA aids China's coercive family planning programs and policies. In 15 of the past 25 years, the United States has been one of the leading contributors to UNFPA. For the other years, the United States withheld funding to the organization through the so-called "Kemp-Kasten" amendment that has been included in foreign operations appropriations since FY1985. Kemp-Kasten states that U.S. funds will not be made available to any organization or program which, as determined by the President, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. U.S. contributions to UNFPA will likely be considered during the second session of the 111 th Congress as part of the debate on the annual State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill and other related legislation. From FY2002 through FY2008, the George W. Bush Administration found UNFPA ineligible for U.S. funding under Kemp-Kasten and transferred proposed annual contributions to other foreign aid activities. In March 2009, President Barack Obama announced that the United States would resume U.S. contributions to UNFPA, specifying that $50 million would be made available to the organization as directed in the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 ( P.L. 111-8 ). In FY2010, the United States provided $55 million to UNFPA as required by Division F of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 ( P.L. 111-117 ). For FY2011, the President requested that the United States contribute $50 million to the organization. This report provides an overview of the U.N. Population Fund, its current mission and operations, and recent funding trends. It further discusses the role of the United States in supporting UNFPA programs, the varying interpretations by several Administrations of legislative authorities pertaining to UNFPA's eligibility for U.S. resources, and congressional debates over how much and under what conditions the United States should voluntarily contribute to UNFPA. Finally, it reviews the findings of several private and U.S. government investigations of China's family planning programs and the role UNFPA plays in their implementation. The United Nations, since its earliest days, has maintained an interest in population issues. In 1947, the United Nations established a Population Commission that collected and analyzed global population data and supported member government efforts to examine information about national populations. Following several years of U.N. debate over the rapid rise of the world's population, the General Assembly approved a resolution in 1966 calling on the United Nations and other international organizations to extend technical assistance on population matters. In 1967, the U.N. Secretary-General created a Trust Fund for Population Activities, which in 1969 was renamed the U.N. Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). Initially, UNFPA was administered by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the organization's primary international development organ. Within a few years, at the direction of the General Assembly, UNFPA had expanded its operations beyond statistical collection and analysis to the provision of maternal and child health/family planning, communication and education, and population policy assistance. By 1972, UNFPA was operating in 78 countries with a budget of over $30 million. With such rapid growth in the Fund's scope and programs, UNFPA became a separate entity under the direct authority of the General Assembly, with the same status as UNDP and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF). In these initial years, the United States provided the majority of UNFPA funding through voluntary contributions. In 1968 and 1969, when seven governments extended financial support, the $4 million transfer by the United States represented nearly 80% of total contributions. By 1972, the number of donors had grown to 52, but the United States remained by far the largest source of funds, with 46% of the total. Over the next decade, the U.S. share declined to about 25% as other nations increased their contributions. UNFPA played a significant role in the World Population Conferences, held a decade apart in Bucharest (1974) and Mexico City (1984). Following the 1974 meeting of 133 nations, the U.N. General Assembly called for the expansion of international population assistance, with UNFPA taking a lead role, to implement the plan of action endorsed at the Bucharest Conference. Partially due to the growing attention on world population issues, UNFPA operations expanded rapidly during this period. The scope of UNFPA's work also broadened, so that by the early 1980s, the organization focused on eight primary areas: family planning, including delivery systems and fertility regulation techniques; data collection; formulation and evaluation of population policies and programs; communications and education; population dynamics, including demographic projections and their analysis; implementation of policies and programs, including efforts "beyond family planning" related to law and population, status of women, and economic policies; special programs focusing on women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and programs to promote social justice; and multisector activities, including support for population conferences and training. UNFPA was a major catalyst in organizing, financing, and implementing outcomes of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo. The Cairo Conference marked a turning point in the international debate over the impact of population issues on global development and established a policy framework that continues to guide current family planning and reproductive health policies. The Plan of Action that emerged from the Cairo Conference, to a much greater extent than before, integrated population concerns into the broad context of development, concluding that education and health (including reproductive health), were prerequisites for sustainable development. The Conference shifted population program strategies away from demographic goals and toward human welfare and poverty reduction objectives. The Conference further focused far more attention on the status and empowerment of women. Moving beyond strictly health issues, the conference endorsed programs to promote expanded opportunities for the education of women and girls, to end gender discrimination and violence against women, and to strengthen women's grassroots activist organizations. Since the Cairo Conference, UNFPA programs have and continue to be guided by the ICPD's Program of Action, which contains several goals, including universal access to reproductive health services by 2015; universal primary education and closing the gender gap in education by 2015; reducing maternal mortality by 75% by 2015; reducing infant mortality; and increasing life expectancy. In 1999, an additional goal—reducing HIV infection rates in persons 15-24 years of age by 25% in the most-affected countries by 2005 and by 25% globally by 2010—was incorporated into the Program of Action and integrated into UNFPA's work. UNFPA is headquartered in New York City and supports five regional, six sub-regional, and 129 field offices worldwide. It has approximately 1,119 staff members and in 2009 operated in 155 countries, areas, and territories. In 2009, UNFPA's total income was $783.1 million, a decrease of approximately $62 million from 2008 (see Table 1 ). The organization attributes this decline to the global economic downturn. UNFPA derives most of its income from voluntary contributions to its regular budget which finances continuing core country programs and the organization's administrative costs. A growing but less flexible source of revenue has been from supplementary donations that are provided either for cost-sharing purposes or for placement in trust funds. Through supplementary resource transfers, donors can earmark exactly how their contributions will be spent. In 2000, for example, the Netherlands provided $41 million specifically to procure contraceptive commodities. While UNFPA receives voluntary contributions from many countries and from some private foundations, most of its income for regular country programs and operating expenses comes from a handful of donors. In the past eight years, approximately 60% to 75% of UNFPA's regular income has come from six country donors (see Table 2 ). The Netherlands and Japan have consistently been the largest contributors. In 2009, the first year the United States contributed to UNFPA since 2001, it was the fourth-largest donor, representing approximately 9.5% of the UNFPA regular budget. Currently, UNFPA activities focus on seven program areas that support the broad strategy of improving reproductive health: Preventing HIV/AIDS —promoting safer sexual behavior among young people, ensuring that condoms are available and widely and correctly used, empowering women to protect themselves and their children, and encouraging men to take responsibility for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS; Making motherhood safer —expanding the availability of emergency obstetric care for women who develop complications, having skilled workers available, and meeting unmet needs for contraceptive services; Supporting young people —providing accurate information, counseling, and services to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases; Promoting gender equality —promoting legal and policy reforms, supporting gender-sensitive data collection, and backing programs that empower women economically; Assisting in emergencies —providing supplies and services to protect reproductive health during disasters; Securing reproductive health supplies —coordinating the delivery of supplies, forecasting needs, and building logistical capacity at the country level; and Preventing and treating obstetric fistula — providing access to medical care, increasing education and family planning services, postponing pregnancy for young girls, improving girls' nutrition, and repairing physical and emotional damage.