Note
"In December 2013, Senator Mary Landrieu (D., La.) authored a letter asking House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders to let the United States pay dues for UNESCO's World Heritage Program...Weakening funding prohibitions for U.N. organizations that grant membership to the Palestinians - especially when the exemption does not involve U.S. security interests - would invite additional exemptions down the road and signal that the U.S. lacks resolve in opposing Palestinian membership in U.N. organizations prior to reconciliation with Israel."
"Following UNESCO's embrace of the Palestinians, the Obama administration has repeatedly tried to amend the law so that U.S. funds might once again flow to UNESCO. Thus far, Congress has rebuffed those efforts. Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen(R., Fla.) and Brad Sherman (D., Calif.) explained their opposition to changing the law by noting that the funding prohibitions are 'vital in successfully derailing attempts...to seek de facto recognition of a Palestinian state from the U.N. via the granting of membership to 'Palestine' in U.N. agencies...A U.N. body that acts so irresponsibly - a U.N. body that admits states that do not exist - renders itself unworthy of U.S. taxpayer dollars...'"