Charles E. Schumer: “I rise to strongly protest the shortsighted decision made by anonymous bureaucrats at the Pentagon to shut down our air…”

“I rise to strongly protest the shortsighted decision made by anonymous bureaucrats at the Pentagon to shut down our air operations against the drug lords of South America. Stopping our surveillance in the Andean nations is unwise, untimely, and unusually dangerous. It was taken against the wishes of the State Department, against the advice of the officials on the ground who are on the front line in our fight against the scourge of drugs, and against the needs of our allies in Latin America. And--worst of all--it directly undercuts the Clinton administration's own drug strategy. That strategy is based on two major prongs. Cutting off the supply right at the source, and cutting down demand by wise drug policies here at home. I have been in touch with the White House to urge that this decision be reversed immediately. And I intend to offer today a strong sense of the Congress resolution asking that the President overrule the bureaucrats and get his balanced plan back on track. Drug use is apparently beginning to rise again in America. The South American drug lords are moving into the heroin business. This is absolutely the wrong time to make this kind of mistake.”