mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman from california ( mr. lantos ) xz4002310 for his gracious comments . 
i rise to support h.r. 2601 in its present form and to comment on some of the positive elements of this bill . 
iran 's nuclear program continues to threaten the world , the united states , and israel . 
for nearly 2 decades , iran has pursued a clandestine nuclear program while claiming it had to keep this program hidden from the international community because of the sanctions against it . 
let us be clear . 
iran is a country with huge oil and natural gas reserves . 
they do not need nuclear power for energy consumption . 
that is why i am glad the bill includes my language that makes it clear that russia needs to stop helping iran develop nuclear energy plants . 
this bill also includes language i offered on the religious freedom and rights of the ecumenical patriarch in turkey . 
the ecumenical patriarch is the spiritual leader of 300 million orthodox christians throughout the world . 
yet the government of turkey has refused to recognize the ecumenical patriarch 's international status and its significant status and its significance to orthodox christians . 
that is why my language states that turkey must immediately eliminate all forms of discrimination , particularly those based on race or religion . 
this bill also provides funds to make sure that the state department looks like the rest of america . 
as was mentioned in the report language in the bill , kean university in new jersey runs a model program which is specifically designed to increase the number of minorities in the foreign service . 
finally , i believe the hyde u.n . 
amendment will not solve the real problems at the united nations . 
instead , this amendment sets the united nations up to fail by creating a series of requirements that will be almost impossible to meet and then requiring mandatory withholding of 50 percent of the u.s. dues . 
this bill is medicine that may kill the patient rather than cure a specific disease . 
i am particularly concerned that the bill keeps the united states from supporting any new peacekeeping mission until far-reaching reforms have been implemented , even in extreme cases . 
that amendment could very well condemn us to lose only american lives , shed only american blood , and spend only american capital instead of having the world share this responsibility with us . 
as i said in the beginning , this bill has many positive components , but we should not attach the u.n . 
amendment to this bill that undermines that world body and undermines our ability to participate and have others participate with us in global security and other initiatives . 
if we reject that , then we can be on our way to a very good state department authorization . 
