Henry J. Hyde United Nations Reform Act of 2005
HENRY J. HYDE UNITED NATIONS REFORM ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - June 17, 2005)
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(Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from South Carolina has an excellent amendment that is already encompassed in the Lantos substitute. The vote of the day will be on the Lantos substitute amendment. That will determine what policy this House establishes.
Let me first address those who are supporters of the U.N., or only mildly skeptical, and urge them to vote for the Lantos substitute because it undoubtedly ameliorates the underlying legislation. That amendment makes this legislation less draconian and less harsh. If and when the Lantos amendment is passed and becomes part of the legislation, then Members can decide on final passage, whether to vote for an ameliorated bill. But please do not give up the opportunity to ameliorate this bill simply because you do not feel that the amelioration is fully sufficient.
Now, let me address those who are quite skeptical of the United Nations, who want to get tough in demanding reform. The question is what strategy do we use. Do we use the straitjacket strategy where we do not trust the administration, we think they are insufficiently dedicated to the cause of U.N. reform, and so we impose upon them a straitjacket, a formula that says even if 38 out of 39 reforms are adopted, if one of those 14 that is special is not adopted, 38 out of 39 is not enough? We force our negotiators to walk into the room wearing a straitjacket.
Or do we adopt the Lantos approach where we empower the administration, state our goals, provide the power to withhold a substantial part of our dues, and let them begin to negotiate? That question depends on whether Members think the Bush administration is tough enough, are they sufficiently dedicated to U.N. reform.
What has this administration done to show where it stands on being tough on U.N. reform? The answer is two words: John Bolton. Whoever represents us at the U.N. will be representing a President and carrying out the policies of a President who, when asked who in the world could best represent us, selected John Bolton. It will either be John Bolton or someone selected by a man who wanted John Bolton.
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