9 Feb 2011

UN / RICE US FUNDING

US Ambassador Susan Rice comments on the Congressional vote today that failed to pass which would insist that the country be repaid $179 million in money that the U.S. has overpaid to the United Nations. UNTV

Posted at: February 9, 2011 4:37 pm

Duration: 1:44

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / RICE US FUNDING
TRT: 1:44
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 9 FEBRUARY 2011

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations headquarters
2. Med shot, US Ambassador Rice approaches microphone
3. Cutaway, reporter taking notes 
4.  SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"It was the city of New York that underscored the vital importance to US national security to enhance security, physical security in this structure above and beyond what was originally contemplated during the Capital Master Plan. We have thousands of New Yorkers who pass through this building and under this building every day. We have school children, we have members of the public, we have the president of the United States come in this building on a regular basis and the city of New York and the State Department the Administration feels that it is in our national interest and in the interest of the people of New York that steps be taken to swiftly to upgrade the physical security of this building."
5. Cutaway, reporter taking notes
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"We share, however, the spirit in which the legislation is offered which is to reduce the deficit and to address the need for spending reductions, but the other portion of those credits, the seventy nine million will do just that because we intend to apply those to assessments that we would otherwise have to request resources from Congress to pay. So this is a way of ensuring that we are using tax payers dollars wisely."
7. Cutaway, cameraman
8. Med shot, Rice walks away from microphone

STORYLINE:

A Congressional vote today failed to pass which would have insisted that the United States (US) be repaid $179 million in money that the country had overpaid to the United Nations (UN).

US Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters at headquarters in New York that the administration strongly opposed the vote and said the credit should go to enhancing the physical security in the structure of the UN buildings beyond what was originally contemplated in the CMP (Capital Master Plan). She added that it was the city of New York that stressed the "vital importance" to national security.

Rice did say that the administration shared the "spirit" in which the legislation offered to reduce the deficit and to address the need for spending reductions.

The vote 259-169, fell short by the two-thirds majority need to move the bill. The GOP needed a host of Democrats to vote with Republicans to pass the UN bill, but only 23 Democrats supported it, 2 Republicans opposed it.