Paul Coverdell: “I think that a brief chronology of events regarding U.S. efforts to provide assistance to Colombia would be instructive.…”

“I think that a brief chronology of events regarding U.S. efforts to provide assistance to Colombia would be instructive. For years, the Administration has neglected the growing narcotics crisis in the Andean Region. Funding for international interdiction declined rapidly under the Clinton Administration. For example, international counter-narcotic funding dropped 56% from 1992 to 1996. Also Department of Defense air assets for counter-narcotics were slashed 68% from 1992-1999. As a result, drug production abroad and drug usage at home increased dramatically. The statistics are devastating. From 1992 to 1999, for example, cocaine use among 10th graders increased 133%. Republicans have long argued for a restoration of balance in the U.S. counter-drug strategy: the 1980s showed that eradicating and interdicting illegal drugs outside our borders is a necessary part of a successful drug strategy that also includes strong investments in demand reduction and domestic law enforcement. The Colombia crisis emerged as an international crisis last spring, 1999. I had the opportunity to travel to Colombia in August of 1999 to see the drug-fueled crisis first-hand. Upon my return, Senator DeWine, Senator Grassley and I introduced an assistance package, the Alianza Act, in October of 1999. The Alianza Act authorized $1.6 billion over 3 years to support anti-drug efforts, the rule of law, human rights, and the peace process in Colombia and neighboring countries.”