Cass Ballenger: “each week that we delay the passage of the Colombia aid package costs America the lives of 1,000 of its children. That…”

“each week that we delay the passage of the Colombia aid package costs America the lives of 1,000 of its children. That means every day we sit here and do nothing about the drug trade from Colombia, 143 of our young people will die from drug-related causes. In the time it takes us to debate and vote on the aid package, 12 children will succumb to drug addiction. In 1998, 5 million young people in this country required treatment for drug addiction, and nearly 600,000 required an emergency room visit. In the United States, there are 1.6 million drug-related arrests annually, and over half of our prison population has committed drug related crimes. Even more disturbing, while the average age of marijuana users is increasing, heroin abusers are getting younger. Seventy-five percent of all the heroin entering this country comes from Colombia. Delaying this aid package will only bring in more. Mr. Speaker, we have worked hard to stop the genocide in other countries. We now have the duty to stop the senseless slaughter of a generation of young Americans. If we love our children as much as we claim, then we must pass the Colombia aid package, and soon.”