[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7989]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 7989]]

                          EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

    FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 2002 AND 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2001

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1646) to 
     authorize appropriations for the Department of State for 
     fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and for other purposes:

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in firm opposition to the 
amendment offered by Chairman Hyde, ranking member Mr. Lantos of the 
International Relations Committee, and Mr. Sweeney.
  This week, the United States was voted off of the United Nations 
Human Rights Commission and the International Narcotics Control Board. 
Though it is unfortunate that the United States will not be a member of 
these commissions during the next rotation, that does not preclude us 
from being instrumental in shaping human rights and drug policies 
throughout the world.
  Whether our exclusion from these commissions was a result of 
decisions by the Bush Administration on the Kyoto Protocol or the ABM 
treaty, or the result of years of festering anti-American sentiment, we 
must accept the decision of the member states of the United Nations. As 
the leader of the international community, we must set an example for 
the rest of the world to follow. We must persevere in the face of 
adversity.
  By making our payment of UN arrears contingent upon the U.S. return 
to the United Nations Human Rights Commission runs counter to the 
principles of cooperation that we expect from the other members of the 
United Nations.
  We are punishing not only the countries of the Western European and 
other groupings for not supporting us, but the entire UN body.
  Instead, we need to work on mending fences with nations around the 
world to demonstrate that we are ready and willing to work with them, 
not against them.
  We need to pay our arrears that are long overdue. We made a 
commitment to the international community that we must uphold.
  Therefore, I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote against the 
Hyde-Lantos-Sweeney amendment.

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