16 October 1998
(Authorizes $2,600 million over next three years) (640) By Berta Gomez USIA Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- U.S. spending on international drug interdiction, eradication, and crop substitution efforts will rise by $690 million next year under the budget agreement reached by Congress on October 15. Lawmakers from both parties hailed the additional spending as a major step forward in the fight against illegal drugs, and one that will further engage and support U.S. partners in that fight throughout the Western Hemsiphere. The omnibus budget agreement, which is scheduled for congressional approval on October 20, includes the Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act of 1998. The act, introduced in Congress earlier this year, would authorize a total increase of $2,600 million for international drug interdiction and eradication efforts over the next three years. The $690 million appropriation for fiscal year 1999 represents the first installment, and includes $96 million to buy six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the Colombian police, an extra $190 million for the U.S. Customs Service, and $90 million for enhanced inspections and surveillance along the U.S.-Mexico border. Speaking to reporters at an October 16 press conference, Congressman Dennis Hastert (Republican-Illinois) described the interdiction initiative as part of an overall anti-drug policy that combines law enforcement and interdiction with demand reduction, treatment and educational programs. Total drug-related spending will reach about $18,000 million in 1999, compared to about $17,200 million in 1998, he said. At the same time, Hastert and other legislators emphasized the importance of interdiction, which they believe has been under-funded in recent years. In 1987, the U.S. federal drug control budget was "fairly evenly divided" among demand reduction, law enforcement and interdiction efforts, whereas only 13 percent of the current budget goes to international interdiction, Senator Mike DeWine (Republican-Ohio) told reporters. The new spending will "restore balance to our anti-drug efforts in this country," he said. "Drugs are far too easy to bring into this country and far too easy to buy." DeWine also suggested that interdiction is itself a means of reducing domestic demand. "Enhanced international interdiction and eradication efforts drive up the price of drugs and drive down usage among youth and casual users, which is our ultimate goal," he said. Other lawmakers stressed that a significant portion of the new funds will go to intelligence-gathering that can be shared with other countries and enhance cooperation in the anti-drug fight. The United States and its partners have found that "when we work together we get more than the sum of our two efforts," said Congressman Porter Goss (Republican-Florida). He described Latin American and Caribbean nations' growing interest in anti-drug cooperation as "one of the big breakthroughs of the past year." "There is a huge amount of host-country participation" in this effort, Goss said. He especially praised Peru's "extraordinary success" in drug crop eradication, adding: "We can replicate that success in other Andean nations." In response to reporters' questions about U.S. involvement in other countries, Congressman Bill McCollum (Republican-Florida) underlined that the United States does not carry out interdiction or crop eradication projects overseas. "We provide help and information," he said, "but there are no U.S. operations in these countries." Other legislators praising the agreement included Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat-California), who issued a statement saying that the new funds "will make a real difference on the ground." Feinstein said she was especially pleased that the package includes funds for new high-technology surveillance and inspection equipment along the southwest U.S. border, "which is still, without question, ground zero for U.S. drug interdiction efforts."