2002 Ron Paul 91:1
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce
the “Say ‘No’ to UNESCO” act.
This bill expresses the sense of the Congress
that the United States should not rejoin
the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
2002 Ron Paul 91:2
Mr. Speaker, in 1984 President Ronald
Reagan withdrew the United States from
membership in that UNESCO, citing egregious
financial mis-management, blatant anti-Americanism,
and UNESCO’s general anti-freedom
policies. President Reagan was correct in
identifying UNESCO as an organization that
does not act in America’s interest, and he was
correct in questioning why the United States
should fund 25 percent of UNESCO’s budget
for that privilege.
2002 Ron Paul 91:3
Those calling for the United States to rejoin
UNESCO claim that the organization has undertaken
fundamental reforms and therefore
the United States should re-join. It is strange
that in the 18 years since the United States
left UNESCO, we only started reading about
the beginnings of reform in the year 2000. Are
we to believe that after nearly two decades of
no change in UNESCO’s way of mis-managing
itself things have changed so much in
just two years? Is it worth spending $60 million
dollars per year on an organization with
such a terrible history of waste, corruption,
and anti-Americanism?
2002 Ron Paul 91:4
Mr. Speaker, even if UNESCO has been
“reforming” its finances over the past two
years, its programmatic activities are still
enough to cause great concern among those
of us who value American sovereignty and
honor our Constitution. Consider the following
as a partial list of UNESCO’s ongoing highly
questionable activities:
2002 Ron Paul 91:5
UNESCO meddles in the education affairs
of its member-countries and has sought to
construct a UN-based school curriculum for
American schools.
2002 Ron Paul 91:6
UNESCO has been fully supportive of the
United Nations’ Population Fund (UNFPA) in
its assistance to China’s brutal coercive population
control program.
2002 Ron Paul 91:7
UNESCO has designated 47 U.N. Biosphere
Reserves in the United States covering
more than 70 million acres, without Congressional
consultation.
2002 Ron Paul 91:8
UNESCO effectively bypasses Congressional
authority to manage federal lands, by
establishing management policies without
Congressional consultation of approval.
2002 Ron Paul 91:9
Mr. Speaker, I hope all members of this
body will join me in opposing renewed United
States membership in the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization
by co-sponsoring the “Say ‘No’ to UNESCO”
act.
