30 June 2000
(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)