Last month, as part of UNA’s “Day on The Hill,” June 14, I had the pleasure of meeting with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-12), my representative in the U.S. Congress. I was joined by UNA executive director, Patrick Madden and several other UNA members from New York State. Overall, Congresswoman Velázquez has a stellar voting record in support of the United Nations and multilateralism and communicated her continuing commitment to promoting a strong US-UN relationship.

Center: Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, UNA Members Left to right: Robert Klein (Rockland County), Margaret Shannon (Queens Chapter vice president), Marcia Brewster (Westchester Chapter president), Gabriel Levitt (Brooklyn Chapter president), Patrick Madden (UNA executive director), Carl Murrell (Manhattan)

We focused on the core UNA advocacy agenda during our meeting: full funding for the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets; continued engagement with the Human Rights Council, maintaining foreign aid appropriations in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and support for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). As in the past, Congresswoman Velázquez supports full funding for the United Nations and foreign aid in support of our MDGs. However, she is concerned that due to the national priority for steep federal budget cuts full funding for the UN may prove difficult this next year.

Some members of congress are seeking to withhold funding to the Human Rights Council – which would mean flouting our responsibilities under the UN charter – and cutting off funding to the UNFPA. Such selective withholdings and funding cuts will only weaken our position within the UN and among our allies and abdicate our responsibility to protect and improve women’s health. I believe Congresswoman Velázquez strongly opposes such actions and look forward to continuing a dialog with her on these issues.

I told Congresswoman Velázquez about the Brooklyn Chapter’s plan for UN Day, to invite Brooklyn’s teachers to an event to learn about the Model UN. Congresswoman Velazquez encouraged us to reach out to her staff in Brooklyn to work together on this educational initiative, which we will certainly do.

Congresswoman Velazquez talks with UNA Brooklyn Chapter in her Washington Office

This is the second consecutive year that Congresswoman Velázquez has made time to meet, listen to, and talk with the United Nations Association’s Brooklyn Chapter.  Her openness and open mind is a reflection of the diversity and creativity of the constituency she very strongly represents. We hope that she uses these traits to share her global perspective on U.S. foreign policy with fellow members of congress by encouraging them to voteagainst reactionary policies that lead to unilateralism and isolationism and for progressive policies that enhance U.S. engagement in the United Nations, and project a long-term multilateral approach to protecting our national interests.