from Members of Congress, successfully stopped the PLO’s effort by credibly threatening, as noted in a May 1, 1989, statement by then-Secretary of State James A. Baker, that the United States [would] make no further contributions, voluntary or assessed, to any organization which makes any change in the P.L.O.’s present status as an observer organization . (3) The United States success over a period of decades demonstrated that withholding contributions and placing conditions of its payment can result in real reforms, stop counterproductive developments, and advance U.S. interests at the United Nations. (4) In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) granted full membership to the Palestinians, triggering United States law that prohibits funding for any United Nations organization that grants membership to the PLO. (5) In September 2015 and again in September 2016, at the United Nations General Assembly, Abu Mazen threatened that Palestinian leadership would no longer be bound by its signed agreements with Israel. (6) Palestinian leadership continues its effort to evade direct negotiations for peace with the State of Israel by seeking recognition of a Palestinian state from foreign governments and in international forums. (7) Further efforts to bypass negotiations and to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state, or to appeal to the United Nations or other international forums or to foreign governments for recognition of a Palestinian state of membership or other upgraded status for the Palestinian observer mission at those forums, or to impose a solution or parameters for negotiations, would violate the underlying principles of the Oslo Accords, the Road Map, and other relevant Middle East peace process efforts. 302. Reaffirmation of United States policy regarding the status of Palestinian entities at the United Nations, its specialized agencies, or its affiliated organizations Congress hereby reaffirms that it is the law of the United States to prohibit the use of