A majority of Americans support U.S. involvement in the United Nations, a new poll finds, though some Republican leaders wish to scale down support for the international body



House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has sponsored legislation to make U.S. funding of the UN voluntary / Reuters

An overwhelming majority of voters support U.S. involvement in the United Nations, according to a bipartisan poll released on Thursday. The poll results come as the House Foreign Affairs Committee prepares to mark up comprehensive anti-U.N. legislation that could cut off 50 percent of America's contribution to the organization's budget, including funding to affiliates like the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.N. Development Programme.

Eighty-six percent of voters believe the U.S. should take an active role within the international body, according to a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research Associates on behalf of the United Nations Foundation. The poll found that more than two-thirds of voters believe the U.N. still plays an important role in the world today, and that 64 percent support the United States paying its U.N. dues on time and in full.

Democrats overwhelmingly support U.S. involvement in the U.N., while Republicans are closely divided, the poll found. Half of Republicans support legislation that would cut U.S. funding of the U.N. and 44 percent oppose it.

Legislation sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., would make U.S. funding of the U.N. voluntary and conditional, a change she argues would promote efficiency and accountability. The United States currently funds 22 percent of the United Nations' budget, which the body then manages.