A powerful group of members of Congress has said it is "deeply troubled" by the suspension of the Northern Ireland assembly, and appears to fault the Ulster Unionist Party.
The group, known as the Friends of Ireland, says in its traditional St Patrick's Day statement, "The suspension was not caused by any failure of the institutions themselves, nor by any violation of the agreement, but by an internal political crisis focused on the issue of decommissioning."
The statement calls on the North's political leaders, who were at the Speaker's Lunch yesterday on Capitol Hill, "to bridge this crisis of confidence and secure the reinstatement of the institutions as soon as possible."
The statement was signed by Speaker Mr Dennis Hastert; House Democratic leader, Mr Richard Gephardt; Senators Edward Kennedy, Daniel Moynihan, Christopher Dodd and Connie Mack. Congressman Jim Walsh also signed.
The group warns that the absence of the institutions "creates a gap which the enemies of peace can and will exploit. It is vital they are not permitted to succeed."
The statement welcomes the acknowledgement by the IRA that "the issue of arms needs to be dealt with in an acceptable way and this is a necessary objective of a genuine peace process."
The group says, "We consider a crucial test to be whether the electorate in Northern Ireland can be reassured that their democratic wishes will not be undermined by actual or threatened recourse to guns from any side."
The statement urges "renewed dialogue" with Gen de Chastelain's decommissioning commission.
"The paramilitaries must put weapons beyond use and make progress on the decommissioning side."
The ongoing ceasefires are described as "major confidence-building measures". "It should be made clear that any return to violence is not an option," the statement continues.
Root causes of violence - prejudice, religious intolerance and sectarianism - must be eliminated.
The nationalist and unionist communities must see that politics is working and believe their future can rest with the actions of their democratically elected representatives in the assembly, the statement says.
The British government is called upon to "reasonably scale down its military presence in the North."
The group also calls for the "timely implementation of the Patten Report" on the reform of policing.
It emphasises the importance of moving forward on human rights and equality issues, including a Bill of Rights.
The commitment to human rights should be demonstrated by independent inquiries into the Finucane, Nelson and Hamill cases, the group says.