Hands off the U.N.

(The Hill) — The Obama administration is telling Democrats to stay away from a GOP bill to reform the United Nations, according to the Republican chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) says the Obama administration is pressuring House Democrats not to co-sponsor her legislation, which would cut off U.S. funding for the U.N. unless it ensures at least 80 percent of its programs are funded through voluntary contributions.

“We have no Democrat co-sponsors, and as far as I have heard . . . they have been asked to stay away from the bill,” Ros-Lehtinen told The Hill this week. “And of course, if you ask administration officials, they will tell you, ‘Of course we don’t do that.'”

Ros-Lehtinen said the opposition won’t stop her from pushing forward next month with the legislation, which she casts as a response to an organization that allows countries like China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and others to control the Human Rights Council.

The bill, which has 98 GOP co-sponsors, threatens to withhold half of the $3 billion the U.S. contributes to the U.N. every year until 80 percent of all U.N. programs are funded through voluntary contributions. It is meant to allow countries to only fund the U.N. programs that they support.