U.S. President Clinton has vowed to veto a State Department bill passed by Congress Tuesday that repays $926 million in overdue U.N. funds, but stipulates the money can not be used towards international family-planning organizations that support reproductive rights. Conservative Republicans are threatening to add a similar provision to the Clinton Administration’s solicitation for $18 billion for the International Monetary Fund.
Clinton condemned Congress for attaching the anti-abortion provision to the funds. The U.S. may lose voting rights in the U.N. General Assembly unless the dues are paid soon.
White House spokesperson Barry Toiv said, “By including this extraneous but controversial provision relating to family planning, the Congress leaves the president no choice but to veto the bill.” Toiv said, “We hope they will get the bill up here quickly so the president can veto it and we can move on to separating this issue from this essential legislation, as it ought to be separated.”
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