[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 162 (Wednesday, October 24, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING THE 62ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 24, 2007

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, today we recognize the 62nd anniversary of 
the United Nations. The United Nations was founded in the aftermath of 
the Second World War. Leaders across the world came together to form 
this international organization with the hope that nations united in 
purpose might never again have to face the devastating consequences of 
a third World War. Since its inception, the mission of the United 
Nations has been focused on advancing the cause of fundamental human 
rights around the world. It is a noble cause.
  Unfortunately, the lofty goals of this institution have been 
blemished by a record of past actions which challenge the U.N.'s very 
existence.
  This year, Madam Speaker, I am serving as one of two Congressional 
Delegates to the United Nations. As a representative of the people I 
would be remiss, on this United Nations Day, if I did not address some 
of the concerns that Americans have with the United Nations. In a poll 
conducted last year by political consultant and pollster, Frank Luntz, 
71 percent of Americans agreed that the U.N. is no longer effective and 
need to be reformed. In addition, the poll found that 75 percent of the 
participants agreed that the United Nations is no longer effective and 
needs to be held accountable. Most telling, for the first time since 
the U.N. was founded, a majority of Americans, 57 percent, believe that 
if the U.N. cannot be reformed it needs to be gotten rid of all 
together and replaced.
  Like most Americans, Madam Speaker, I'm concerned with the 
ineffectiveness of the United Nations. I'm concerned with the anti-
Semitic factions that exist within the U.N. I'm concerned with its 
hypocritical human rights record--claiming to preserve human rights, 
while not holding some of the world's worst human rights violators 
responsible. I'm concerned with the corruption of U.N. officials and 
mismanagement of U.N. programs. And I'm concerned with the United 
Nations inability to actually take a lead in fighting the threat of 
global terrorism.
  If the United Nations expects the United States to support its 
mission, it had better take the concerns of the American people 
seriously and implement the reforms that are necessary to gain the 
trust of the American public.
  And that's just the way it is.

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