White House opposes legislation to halve UN dues

The White House said on Thursday that it was against a legislation that would withhold half of the United States' UN dues, but did not say that US President George W. Bush would veto the legislation.

"We do have concerns about the legislation," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at a briefing, adding that the Bush administration would issue a formal statement later that would urge the Congress to "reconsider this provision."'

When asked whether the statement would threaten to veto the legislation, McClellan said: "I don't expect that to be included in there."

As to the UN reform, McClellan said that it was a high priority for President Bush. "We want to make sure we are moving forward on comprehensive reform," he said.

The United States is by far the largest financial contributor to the United Nations by paying about 22 percent of the world body 's annual general budget of some 2 billion US dollars.

The legislation was introduced by Henry Hyde, a Republican who chairs the House International Relations Committee. However, Bush administration officials have made clear that they oppose the measure.

Source: Xinhua