The Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Dr Mo Mowlam, has said she is disappointed at the decision of the US House of Representatives to cut funding for FBI training of the RUC.
The ban on funding was part of a bill providing $2.4 billion for increased security at US embassies and for promoting human rights around the world.
A section of the bill requires the Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, to ensure that members of the RUC do not take part in any FBI training programmes unless it is certified "that an independent and transparent investigation of the murders of Rosemary Nelson and Patrick Finucane have been initiated by the government of the UK," according to Congressman Chris Smith, who initiated the resolution.
Mr Smith said: "As recommended in this bill, the Blair government should pull the RUC off the Rosemary Nelson murder case, take decisive action to protect defence attorneys and initiate an objective public inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane."
Mr Smith said he would work to have the ban by the FBI made part of the final bill which will emerge from a conference between the House and the Senate.
Dr Mowlam said: "The way forward in Northern Ireland is through dialogue and co-operation between all sides. I am disappointed that this vote appears to go against that grain." She asked others "to recognise the unprecedented efforts by Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, to introduce an independent element into the murder investigation" of Ms Nelson.
The vote has been welcomed by Irish-American organisations.
Meanwhile the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has called for sweeping reforms in the RUC in its submission to the Patten Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland.
Among the recommendations are: changing the name of the force to Northern Ireland Police Service, routinely operating without arms and a complete ban on plastic bullets.
The committee, based in New York, recommends a full judicial inquiry into the killing of Mr Finucane in February 1989 and that the Rosemary Nelson investigation should be "fully independent of the RUC". 99£12£3191
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein's spokeswoman on policing and security, Ms Bairbre de Brun, said yesterday she was not prepared to speculate on the contents of the Patten report before its publication.
"Sinn Fein will judge the Patten report when it is completed," she said. Her statement followed an article in yesterday's Observer which claimed the Patten Commission would recommend an abolition of the RUC's Special Branch.
According to the article, the changes would mirror those made to the Garda Special Branch two years ago and would include a merger of the RUC's Special Branch with CID into a new anti-crime unit.