mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , i rise in strong opposition to this bill , and i urge all of my colleagues across the aisle to do so . 
let me state at the outset that i fully share the passionate commitment of the gentleman from illinois ( chairman hyde ) to meaningful and thorough reforms at the united nations . 
this global institution must become more transparent and open , its employees must be held to the highest ethical and moral standards , and the abuses of the oil-for-food program must never be repeated . 
mr. chairman , the united nations must put an end to its persistent and pathological persecution of the democratic nation of israel , which has become the whipping boy for totalitarian regimes around the globe . 
serial human rights abusers , mr. chairman , must also be kept off u.n . 
institutions explicitly designed to fight for the cause of human rights and democracy . 
mr. chairman , the crushing flow of stories of scandal at the united nations has forced a long-overdue recognition of an essential fact about the place : it is not a real country , like japan or norway . 
it is a derivative reality reflecting its less-than-perfect member states in a deeply flawed world . 
i would like to remind my colleagues that there will be no quick fix for an organization composed of 191 member states which , in varying degrees , have their own shortcomings , their own injustices , their own flaws , their own hypocrisies of all types . 
because a quick fix is not to be expected , and rigid , punitive measures will not bring about a long-term fix , mr. chairman , i must oppose the legislation before the house today and indicate my intention to offer a substitute amendment . 
just yesterday , mr. chairman , our republican administration informed congress that it strongly opposes the automatic withholding provisions of the hyde bill as well as its infringements upon the president 's constitutional powers . 
let me repeat that , mr. chairman , and i want my republican friends to listen . 
the republican administration strongly opposes the hyde bill . 
this does not come as a surprise to us , mr. chairman . 
just a few weeks ago , high-ranking officials at the department of state told congress that the legislation would undoubtedly create new arrears at the united nations because not all of the u.n . 
reform benchmarks contained in the bill are achievable . 
while many of the reforms being sought in the hyde bill are worthy goals , many require unanimous agreement by all 191 u.n . 
member states , including the likes of iran , syria , and sudan . 
mr. chairman , the lord gave us ten commandments , but the bill before the house today gives us 39 . 
what is worse , mr. chairman , is that if the united nations achieves 38 of these benchmarks and only accomplishes half of the thirty-ninth , the hyde bill automatically , automatically , cuts off 50 percent of the u.s. contribution to the united nations . 
with this rigid and inflexible mechanism , the legislation before us will undercut , not strengthen , our ability to press for the very reforms we all seek . 
senior state department officials argue that the bill , if enacted , would severely undermine america 's national security interests by killing desperately needed u.n . 
peacekeeping operations , including a possible mission to deal with genocide . 
the state department is not alone in opposing the hyde bill . 
eight former united states ambassadors to the united nations have expressed their strongest opposition to the bill . 
these ambassadors include distinguished republicans like jeane kirkpatrick , john danforth , a former distinguished republican senator ; and ambassadors richard holbrooke , madeleine albright , donald mchenry , thomas pickering , bill richardson , and andrew young . 
they argue that the bill `` threatens to undermine our leadership and effectiveness at the u.n . 
and the reform effort itself. '' in short , mr. chairman , while the hyde bill has the best of intentions , it will cause our nation to go back into an arrears at the united nations without achieving the desired outcomes . 
given the important role the united nations is currently playing in afghanistan , in iraq , in darfur , and scores of other places , i fail to see how going into debt at the united nations will promote our national security interests . 
it will only force the united states to take on greater global responsibilities at the very moment when our troops and our diplomats are already spread thin . 
i also fail to see , mr. chairman , how tying the hands of our distinguished secretary of state , dr . 
condoleezza rice , as she pursues reform at the united nations would serve our national interest . 
the legislation before the congress micromanages every possible reform at the united nations . 
it creates mechanical , arbitrary , and automatic withholdings , and it gives secretary of state rice zero flexibility to get the job done . 
for these reasons , mr. chairman , i will offer a substitute amendment to achieve u.n . 
reform which will give secretary rice the flexibility she asks for , she needs , and she fully deserves from the congress . 
mr. chairman , i urge all of my colleagues to side with our nation 's bipartisan foreign policy leaders in opposing this bill . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
