Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted against the Henry J. Hyde United Nations Reform Act of 2005 (H.R. 2745) that passed today. He issued the following statement on the bill and a substitute amendment that he did support:

“The U.N. plays an important role as the bumper on the bumper cars of politics between and among nations.

“While we must work toward U.N. reform, we cannot undermine the U.N. by threatening to gut its funding and destroy its finances.

“We must encourage reform at the U.N.  The only thing that this bill encourages is a weakened U.N. and a more negative image of the U.S. in the world.

“This bill makes it far too easy for the United States to shirk its responsibilities to the international community.

“That is why the State Department and many former distinguished U.S. ambassadors to the U.N. oppose this bill.

“The Lantos alternative that I supported would encourage real U.N. reform without undermining the body’s essential role as the meeting place for the world's nations.

“There are real changes that need to be made at the U.N.  The first order of business should be to update the Security Council in order to better reflect the current state of global security. Equally important, we must add a strong nuclear nonproliferation focus at the U.N. that will work to locate, secure and destroy nuclear materials.

“The so-called United Nations Reform Act gets in the way of real reform by holding a sword over the U.N.’s head instead of using constructive diplomacy to get real results.”