January 19, 2012 - The Obama Administration has built on a bipartisan tradition of championing reform at the United Nations (UN) and has achieved notable successes on behalf of U.S. taxpayers. Under President Obama, the United States has:

- Led efforts to achieve a 5% cut in the size of the 2012-13 UN regular budget, resulting in a savings to American taxpayers of as much as $100 million, and only the second budget reduction in the last 50 years;

- Contained the growth of the UN peacekeeping budget, which grew from $1.8 billion to $7.1 billion from 2001 to 2009, by closing peacekeeping missions, as appropriate, and showing increased discipline in establishing new missions;

- Fought for increased transparency throughout the United Nations system, including promoting public disclosure online of all internal audit reports starting in 2012; and

- Spearheaded establishment of a new UN agency called UN Women, combining four separate UN offices into one stronger, streamlined and more efficient entity working to support and empower women worldwide.

For full text, see "Leading Reform at the United Nations" and "Obama Administration Accomplishments:  Reforming the United Nations."