Reuters reported The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to reduce the U.S. share of U.N. peacekeeping costs, a plan backers said would boost the Bush administration's negotiating power in lowering its dues and pressing for U.N. reforms. Reflecting frustration over allegations of U.N. mismanagement and corruption, the Senate agreed to a Republican-backed measure to reduce the cap on the U.S. share of U.N. peacekeeping costs to 25 percent from the current 27.1 percent. It rejected 40-57 a Democratic amendment to keep the current cap for at least two more years.

"The negotiations at the U.N. regarding U.N. reform and the lowering of U.N. peacekeeping dues is under way. Let us ensure that our next ambassador to the United Nations has an opportunity to go to New York and work on this issue," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican. If the measure becomes law, it will give the administration a stronger argument to persuade the United Nations to lower U.S. dues.

NYT reported A former chief of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research is expected to testify in opposition to John R. Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearings on Mr. Bolton next week.

With one Republican member, Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, reserving final judgment, the committee's approval of Mr. Bolton's nomination does not appear to be certain, senior Congressional officials said.

These two stories are related. The Senate voted to cut back on US dues to the UN because of frustration over allegations of U.N. mismanagement and corruption, and Bolton was nominated to encourage the UN to clean up those problems.