News

USIS Washington File

30 June 2000

Congress Gives Final Approval to Plan Colombia Funds

(U.S. to provide $1,300 million to fight drugs) (670)
By Berta Gomez
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The U.S. Congress gave final passage June 30 to an
$11,200 million spending bill that includes $1,300 million in
emergency aid designed to help the government of Colombia battle the
illegal drug trade.

The Senate approved the measure by voice vote on June 30, following
the House of Representatives' 306-110 vote the previous evening. The
measure now goes to President Clinton for his signature.

"With this funding, we will be able to support the courageous
anti-drug efforts of Colombia, which can, in turn, help curb the flow
of drugs in our nation," Clinton said following the House vote.

The money will support Colombian President Andres Pastrana's ambitious
$7,500 million plan to combat narcotraffickers and paramilitary
insurgents in his country, revive the economy, and strengthen
democratic institutions. President Pastrana has pledged $4,000 million
of Colombian resources and has called on the international community
to provide the remaining $3,500 million to assist this effort.

International donors are scheduled to gather in Madrid July 7 to
pledge funds in support of Plan Colombia, and Clinton Administration
officials had urged Congress to approve the U.S. contribution before
that date.

As passed by both the House and Senate, the $1,300 million in
counternarcotics spending will include $1,018 million for Plan
Colombia and regional activities. About $315 million will go to 18
Blackhawk helicopters and 42 "Huey II" helicopters -- 30 for the
Colombian Army and 12 for the Colombian National Police.

The measure provides $122 million for human rights and justice
programs, $81 million for alternative development programs, $185
million for training counternarcotics battalions and intelligence
activities in Colombia, and $117 million to establish three Forward
Operation Locations, which will provide U.S. surveillance aircraft
support for Pentagon and multi-agency counterdrug operations in the
Caribbean, South America and the Eastern Pacific.

Staffers on the House Appropriations Committee described the U.S.
package as endorsing a regional approach to battling the drug trade,
by including $110 million for Bolivia, $20 million for Ecuador and $18
million for other countries in the region.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young, a Florida
Republican, described the funding as a "major initiative aimed at
stopping illegal drugs at the borders of source countries."

Although President Clinton requested the aid to Colombia in
mid-January, approval was stalled over House-Senate disagreements on a
number of specifics as well as by opponents who argued it would
unwisely "escalate" U.S. involvement in the affairs of another
country.

Speaking to reporters June 30, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a
Mississippi Republican, said such concerns were eclipsed by the
gravity of the illegal drug trade and its direct impact on the United
States.

"This is affecting us in America. This is not some distant place. This
is not Kosovo. This is in our hemisphere," Lott said.

"Now, we can wait till this problem gets even worse and we might have
to be directly involved. Or we can try to help a government led by
President Pastrana that is trying to put up a fight, to put down the
drug narcotraffickers ... is trying to deal with this problem. And I
think we ought to help them," Lott added.

Similarly, Representative Sonny Callahan, an Alabama Republican, told
reporters that the aid to Colombia is an essential part of an overall
strategy to fight substance abuse. "If we're going to do anything to
combat drugs, we must be responsive to the people who have pledged to
fight this plague," he said.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Strategy (ONDCP)
estimates that
90 percent of the cocaine coming into the United States originates
from or transits through Colombia and that most of the heroin seized
on the U.S. eastern seaboard now comes from Colombia as well.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)