Before we head into our series on how elections work in the U.S. we thought we'd cover a few lingering questions we've gotten over the last few months.

UN Funding

We were asked about Congress and UN funding. The Congressional Research Service has a report on the types of funding provided by the US and statutes authorizing (or in some cases, prohibiting) the funding. We'll add that the UN has been a controversial entity from inception (as was its predecessor the League of Nations). There has always been a faction of the US population that thinks we should not be involved with the UN at all. How much traction that view gets in mainstream politics tends to ebb and flow. In the late 1950s and early 1960s as the John Birch Society was in its heyday, this perspective was fairly strong. The book Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein provides some useful background.

Currently, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been targeted by Congressional Republicans for defunding or at least reduced funding. A search of bills introduced this session shows at least 18 bills specifically about UNRWA. Most have not passed, but provisions in appropriations bills that did pass allow for funds to be withheld if UNRWA doesn't meet certain conditions.

Things Congress Doesn't Do

In our survey in the spring, we got a couple of responses about property taxes and police. While Congress can pass laws that might indirectly affect property tax rates and local law enforcement, in general, these are issues that are determined at the state and local level. We want to mention this because while we obviously think it's important to interact with your members of Congress, they aren't the only government officials who matter.

Many of the everyday issues that get people's attention are local. For example, ambulance services may be a county service. Your GovTracker lives in a county in FL that has had some issues with its ambulance service. Enough in fact to be the primary driver for one of the candidates to run for one of the county commission seats.

So! Remember to check to see if the thing about which you're concerned is a federal, state or local issue and act accordingly. Also remember that sometimes an issue can span multiple jurisdictions. Environmental harms are a typical instance of this. It can make it more difficult to effect change, but it can also mean you have more people to work with.

See you all next week!