madam chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
madam chairman , i rise in strong opposition to this amendment . 
i deeply regret that the majority has chosen to offer this amendment . 
if adopted , this amendment , which barely passed along partisan lines last month , will blight a very serious and bipartisan effort by the committee on international relations to create the authorization bill before us . 
let me state at the outset , madam chairman , that i 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 more accountable . 
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 . 
but , madam chairman , the deluge of stories of scandal at the united nations has forced a long overdue recognition of a fundamental fact : the united nations is a derivative reality , reflecting its less-than-perfect member states in a deeply flawed world . 
i would like to remind all of my colleagues that there will be no quick fix for an organization composed of 191 member states that in varying degrees have their own shortcomings , injustices , flaws , and hypocrisies of all types . 
because a quick fix is not to be expected , nor will a rigid and unbending punitive measure bring about long-term solution , i must oppose this amendment . 
i want to tell my republican colleagues that this republican administration also opposes the hyde amendment . 
it has stated unambiguously its strong opposition to the automatic withholding provisions of this measure . 
madam chairman , the lord gave us ten commandments , but the amendment before us gives us 46 . 
what is worse , if the united nations achieves 45 of those goals and only achieves half of the 46th requirement , this amendment will automatically cut off 50 percent of u.s. contribution to the united nations . 
with such a mindlessly inflexible mechanism , this amendment is a guillotine on autopilot . 
it will force us to cut 50 percent of our dues to the u.n . 
even if that institution is moving quickly and effectively to implement meaningful reform . 
the amendment would also be a death blow to peacekeeping . 
immediately upon enactment , the united states would be forced to oppose any new or expanded mission until every single reform is implemented , many of which will take years to implement . 
rwanda-style genocides could unfold before our eyes , and the united states would be paralyzed and would be incapable of acting . 
madam chairman , this amendment will cause our nation to go back into arrears at the united nations without achieving its desired outcome . 
given the important role the united nations is currently playing in afghanistan , in darfur and elsewhere , i fail to see how our going into arrears will promote american national security interests . 
it will only force the united states to take on global responsibilities on a unilateral basis at a moment when our troops and our diplomats are already spread thin . 
for these reasons , and because it would significantly undermine the underlying authorization act , which does reflect a unique bipartisan consensus about our nation 's foreign policy priorities , i strongly urge all of my colleagues to reject this amendment . 
i particularly appeal to my republican colleagues . 
during an earlier debate on this very issue , practically every single democrat voted to approve a more flexible measure that would put the punitive power into the hands of our distinguished secretary of state , not leave it on automatic pilot . 
i hope we will find a dozen republicans who will put the national interests ahead of a partisan consideration . 
certainly the administration has done so . 
the administration is on record opposing this amendment . 
practically the entire democratic side of this body is opposed to this amendment . 
we trust that there will be a dozen republicans who will listen to reason and will see the virtue of providing our distinguished secretary of state with the discretion that she needs and will be fully prepared to use . 
madam chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
