Excerpts
from Additional views of Rep. Jose Serrano (D-New York) in House Appropriations
Committee Report 107-480, May 20, 2002
ADDITIONAL
VIEWS OF MR. SERRANO
…
Colombia. --Assistance
to Colombia was originally approved by this Congress after numerous assurances
by both the Clinton and Bush Administrations that its purpose was to control
the production of illicit crops and would not involve the United States
in a wider war. The Colombian military has not made progress on human
rights issues and refuses to suspend, investigate and prosecute the highest
level officials involved in human rights violations and in aiding and
abetting the paramilitaries.
The Supplemental
is not the time or the place to expand our assistance to Colombia from
efforts to target narcotics trafficking to counter-terrorism activities.
Allowing fiscal year 2002 funds made available to the Department of Defense
and the Department of State to be used against organizations designated
as terrorist organizations such as the FARC, the ELN, and the AUC will
represent a significant increase in our country's involvement in Colombia's
civil war.
As of May 21, 2002,
this document was also available online at ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/cp107/hr480.txt