Nancy Pelosi: “this is an instance in which both the proponents and opponents of the Lantos substitute share the same goal: reforming…”

“this is an instance in which both the proponents and opponents of the Lantos substitute share the same goal: reforming the United Nations. We differ over the best means to accomplish that goal, and that disagreement is fundamental. The committee bill embodies a go-it-alone, take-it-or-leave-it approach to dealing with the United Nations that is entirely inconsistent with the tenets of an international organization founded on the belief that nations should be respectful of each other's views. With the United States having so recently suffered the debacle of dealing with U.N. members in an imperious way before the invasion of Iraq, and then being surprised by the U.N.'s reluctance to join us on the course we had pre-determined, one would think that the Republican majority in the House would have learned a lesson about the kind of approach likely to produce international cooperation. This bill is evidence that they have not. The committee bill mandates the withholding of dues if certain reforms are not implemented, dictates the scope of the reforms, and provides precious little time to have them agreed to and put in place. The bill creates a system designed to fail, and then imposes draconian consequences for the failure. Not only have eight former U.S. ambassadors to the U.N. come out strongly in opposition to the bill, but Secretary of State Rice has been noticeably silent about it. The Lantos substitute fashions a better way to achieve needed reform at the U.N.…”