mr. chairman , i first want to thank the gentleman from california ( mr. lantos ) xz4002310 for his longstanding leadership on issues related to the united nations and human freedom . 
no one has greater respect for him in this body than i do . 
but in this case , mr. chairman , i think and i believe that the lantos substitute just falls a little short . 
six decades ago , the united nations was formed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war ; to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights , in the dignity and worth of the human person , in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small ; and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained ; and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom . 
these words , from the preamble of the united nations ' historic charter , today hover over that institution not as a symbol of its founding mission , but as a reminder of its abject failure . 
far from saving future generations from the scourge of war , the united nations ' history of hand-wringing , appeasement , and moral equivalence has exacerbated the scourge of war . 
far from reaffirming faith and fundamental rights and the dignity of the human person , the united nations has overseen the degradation of human rights even of vulnerable human beings in its own care through routine abuses of power , corruption , and even horrific sexual exploitation of peoples at the hands of u.n . 
peacekeepers . 
far from reaffirming faith in the equal rights of nations large and small , the u.n . 
has instead adopted an institutional posture favoring belligerent tyrannies at the expense of freedom-loving democracies , standing with palestinian terrorists against israeli families , standing with saddam hussein against the civilized world , and too often standing with anyone against the united states of america . 
far from promoting justice and respect for international law , the united nations has become one of the world 's greatest apologists for tyranny and terror where justice is merely one point of view ; a place where sudan and syria and castro 's cuba are given a soap-box on which to lecture the free world on human rights ; a place where international lawyers scheme to haul american soldiers before a rogue court , irrespective of constitutional rights ; a place where an international humanitarian mission to feed and heal the iraqi people resulted in $ 10 billion in siphoned bribes and kickbacks . 
and far from promoting social progress and the better standards of life in larger freedom , the united nations has become a hindrance to both progress and freedom . 
just ask the besieged citizens of israel whose every gesture of goodwill has been returned by violence from their enemies and condemnation from the u.n . 
diplomatic pretenses aside , mr. chairman , corruption has infected the united nations . 
and yet given its organizational structure , how could it be otherwise ? 
there is no independent financial oversight . 
there are no standards of transparency . 
most u.n . 
divisions are exempt from democratic accountability . 
and most u.n . 
leaders are protected from the law by diplomatic immunity . 
the rampant corruption that today infects the united nations is not a function of its personnel . 
not really . 
it is a function of its structure . 
that is what we get , mr. chairman , from an organization driven by consensus instead of principle . 
and as long as tyrants and terrorists get as much say in policymaking as democratically elected leaders , the u.n . 
will continue to betray its charter and betray the billions of people on this planet who look to it for hope . 
this substitute essentially agrees with that conclusion . 
it just does not do enough about it . 
but what more do we need to hear , mr. chairman ? 
the u.n. 's corruption is so breathtaking in its scope as to be almost universal : peacekeepers raping women that they are sent to protect ; sexual exploitation of children at the hands of their humanitarian relief workers ; institutional anti-semitism so brazen that yasser arafat was considered a moderate ; $ 10 billion , what further evidence could we possibly need ? 
the pervasive corruption at the u.n . 
is not a problem ; it is a crisis . 
no one denies this . 
and in response to the overwhelming evidencing , the democrat substitute says the reforms in the underlying bill should happen . 
but , mr. chairman , it is not enough to say that these reforms should happen . 
they must happen . 
and they must happen right now . 
we should not be asking the u.n. 's leaders to make these reforms . 
we need to tell them . 
the philosophy of flexibility and appeasement create loopholes that diplomats drive huge trucks through . 
and if they were serious about giving the administration flexibility , why did they not give it to the president instead of the secretary of state ? 
the president leads foreign policy in this country , not the secretary of state . 
the american people are today underwriting rampant corruption , 22 percent of it to be precise , and it needs to stop . 
today the congress must take this stand and clearly voice not simply our frustration but our expectation of concrete reform . 
we must act , mr. chairman . 
and as he has so many times in his decades with us , the gentleman from illinois has shown us the way . 
the gentleman from illinois ( mr. hyde ) xz4001920 has brought before this house a comprehensive , almost exhaustive , package of reform that , if enacted , will finally bring the united nations under some semblance of control . 
if and when these reforms are enacted , mr. chairman , the world will be safer and stronger . 
the american people will be assured their money is being well spent , and the united nations charter to prevent wars , protect human rights , and advance the cause of human freedom will be reaffirmed . 
and every man , woman , and child on this planet will owe a great debt of gratitude to henry j. hyde . 
i just ask my colleagues to vote `` no '' on the democratic substitute . 
vote `` yes '' on the hyde reform bill , and let us put the united nations back on track to fulfill its promise to the human race . 
