Sam Farr: “I rise tonight on the supplemental as a former Peace Corps volunteer who lived 2 years in Colombia. I am very concerned…”

“I rise tonight on the supplemental as a former Peace Corps volunteer who lived 2 years in Colombia. I am very concerned about the issues that the chairman of the subcommittee just talked about, Plan Colombia. We are sending $1.185 billion in aid to Colombia and, as the chairman said, not directly to Colombia but in many different ways. My message tonight is that with this funding comes a message from the American people to Colombia, and that is that we want to help the good, honest people of that beautiful country to end the violence in Colombia. With the money comes our voice. Our voice joins their voice in 'no mas,' 'no more,' no more drugs, no more corruption in their politics, no more violence in the campo, no more kidnappings, no more insurgence by political rebels who do not want to participate in the Democratic process that their Government guarantees. We are sending them helicopters but not troops, we are sending them professional training of their National Police and Army, but only if they assure us that they will not violate human rights and only if they assure us that they will prosecute such violators in civil court.”