U.S.
Military and Police Aid:
Supplemental
aid for 2002
In response to a
March 21 request from the Bush administration, both houses of the U.S.
Congress have approved versions of an "emergency supplemental"
appropriation - a bill that would approve the use of about $28 billion
in new funding for 2002 to address counter-terror priorities. This bill
(H.R. 4775, now Public Law No: 107-206) was signed into law on August
2, 2002. It includes several provisions relevant to Colombia.
A
House-Senate "Conference Committee"
finished reconciling differences in mid-July between both houses' versions
of the bill. The committee's report (the final bill) is now
available at the U.S. Congress website.
What
is in the bill?
(To read the actual
text of the Colombia-related provisions, view our side-by-side
comparison of all versions of the legislation.)
Broadening
the mission of State Department aid
A. The
Bush administration proposed allowing the State Department to use all
past and present anti-drug military and police assistance "to support
a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking, terrorist activities,
and other threats to [Colombia's] national security." State-Department
managed programs (particularly the International Narcotics Control or
INC program, and drawdowns of assistance) account for the vast majority
of aid Colombia has received over the past several years, particularly
equipment like helicopters, planes and boats.
The administration
called for this expansion of purpose "notwithstanding any other
provision of law," which raised some concerns that its request
could void past conditions on aid. The administration asked that this
provision apply in 2002 and 2003.
B. The Conference
Committee (final) version of the bill adopted the House of Representatives'
language on mission expansion. Instead of a "unified campaign"
against any threat to Colombia's national security, the House had specified
that the aid be used in a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking
and "against activities by organizations designated as terrorist
organizations" such as the FARC, ELN and AUC, "and to take
actions to protect human health and welfare in emergency circumstances,"
such as rescue operations. The House also had removed the "notwithstanding
other provision of law" phrase from its bill, and limited the mission-broadening
to 2002.
The conferees added
conditions that had appeared in the Senate's version of the bill. These
include:
- Requiring Colombia's
newly elected president to commit, in writing, to combat narcotics
trafficking, to restore government authority and respect for human
rights in conflictive areas, to implement reforms to the armed forces,
and to pay more of the cost of these policies and reforms.
- Prohibiting
U.S. military or contract personnel from participating in combat operations.
- Making other
conditions in foreign aid law apply to the aid in the supplemental,
including:
- The "Leahy
Amendments" to the foreign operations and defense appropriations
laws for 2002, which ban aid to military units that include members
credibly alleged to have committed gross human rights violations
with impunity;
- The additional
conditions on aid to Colombia in the 2002 foreign aid bill;
- The denial
of U.S. visas to people credibly alleged to have supported paramilitaries;
and
- The "cap"
on military personnel and contractors (400 of each) who can be
in Colombia in support of Plan Colombia.
- In non-binding
narrative report language, the Senate Appropriations Committee also
asked the State and Defense Departments to issue a report explaining
the administration's policy toward Colombia and benchmarks for success,
as well as the mission of U.S. military and contract personnel in
Colombia and possible threats to their safety.
The
Bush administration proposed allowing the State Department to use
all past and present anti-drug military and police assistance "to
support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking, terrorist
activities, and other threats to [Colombia's] national security."
State-Department managed programs (particularly the International Narcotics
Control or INC program,
and drawdowns of assistance)
account for the vast majority of aid Colombia has received over the
past several years, particularly equipment like helicopters, planes
and boats. The administration called for this expansion of purpose "notwithstanding
any other provision of law," which raised some concerns that its
request could void past conditions on aid. The administration asked
that this provision apply in 2002 and 2003.
Broadening
the mission of Defense Department aid
A. The
Bush administration called for a similar expansion in the purpose of
Defense Department-managed counter-narcotics aid to Colombia, using
the same "unified campaign" language as the State Department
section. Defense Department counter-narcotics aid has included much
training, non-lethal equipment upgrades, facilities construction, and
intelligence, among other types of assistance. The request asked that
the provision apply in 2002 and 2003.
B. The Senate cut
had cut this Defense Department provision entirely from its version
of the bill, but the Conference Committee restored it. The final version
adopts the House language, which was identical to the mission-expansion
language in the State Department section above.
The conferees added
all of the conditions that appear in the State Department mission-expansion
section above. It made one change, however,
to the condition on funds for U.S. personnel in combat: U.S. personnel
may use Defense Department funds for combat if the purpose is self-defense
or rescuing U.S. citizens, military personnel, civilian employees or
U.S.-funded civilian contractors.
International
Narcotics Control (INC) aid
A. The
Bush administration called for $114 million in aid worldwide through
the State Department-managed INC program. This would include $4 million
"for Colombia police post support to assist in establishing civilian
authority in areas not previously under government control."
B. The Conference
Committee approved a worldwide total of $117 million for the INC program,
which includes the Bush administration's request of $4 million for improving
police posts in Colombia.
1. Following the
House version, the final bill includes in the INC section $6 million
to begin training military units to protect the Caño Limón
- Coveñas pipeline in northeastern Colombia. The Bush administration
had requested this assistance through Foreign Military Financing, another
State Department-run military aid program discussed below. (The administration's
2003 Foreign Operations Appropriations request includes another $98
million in FMF for pipeline protection. This aid includes helicopters,
training and equipment for Colombia's 18th Brigade, based in Arauca
department on the Venezuelan border, and a new 5th Mobile Brigade. The
$6 million in the supplemental merely seeks to "jump-start"
this larger aid program.)
Before the pipeline
funds can be spent, the conference report requires the State Department
to furnish a report to the appropriations committees describing:
- Estimated oil
revenues the Colombian government has collected from the pipeline
during the preceding twelve months;
- The estimated
amount spent by the Colombian government and private companies using
the pipeline "for primary health care, basic education, microenterprise
and activities to improve the lives of the people of Arauca department";
- Steps being
taken to increase and expand these programs and activities; and
- Mechanisms to
monitor these funds.
2. The final bill
also calls on the State Department to use an undetermined amount of
INC funds "to train and equip a Colombian Armed Forces unit dedicated
to apprehending the leaders of paramilitary organizations."
3. The bill eliminates
language in the Senate version that had called for $2.5 million of INC
funds to be used to train law-enforcement officers to protect national
parks in Colombia. The Conference Committee's narrative report signaled
an intent "to provide assistance to the Colombia National Park
Service to help protect these areas with funding in fiscal year 2003
from the Andean Counterdrug Initiative."
4. The bill also
eliminates the request for $10 million for C-130 transport planes that
was in the House Appropriations Committee's non-binding narrative report.
5. The same report's
request for $10 million in migration and refugee assistance to Colombia
also appears in the Conference Committee's narrative report (see the
Migration and Refugee Assistance section below).
Anti-Terrorism
Assistance (ATA)
A. The
Bush administration called for a worldwide amount of $83 million for
the State Department-managed Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining
and Related Programs (NADR) account. Of this amount, $25 million would
go "to provide critically needed training and operational assistance
for counter-kidnapping training for the Colombian armed forces and police
units."
B. The Conference
Committee's final version approved a worldwide amount of $88 million,
and suggested no changes to the Colombia outlay.
Foreign
Military Financing (FMF)
A. The
Bush administration called for $372.5 million worldwide for the State
Department-managed Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. This included
$6 million to begin training military units to protect the Caño
Limón - Coveñas pipeline in northeastern Colombia.
B. The Conference
Committee's final version of the bill approved a worldwide amount of
$387 million. The $6 million for pipeline protection was moved to the
International Narcotics Control (INC) section of the bill, and a reporting
requirement was added (see the INC section above).
Andean
Strategy Report
Citing concerns
"that the Administration has inadequately articulated clear objectives
of U.S. policy in Colombia, what actions would be required, and what
it would cost to achieve those objectives," the Conference Committee's
non-binding narrative report calls on the State and Defense Departments
to provide within ninety days a report detailing:
- The President's
policy toward Colombia; the objectives of that policy; the actions
required by and the expected financial costs to the United States,
Colombia, and any other country or entity to achieve those objectives;
and the expected time schedule for achieving those objectives;
- Specific benchmarks
for measuring progress toward achieving the objectives of the President's
policy;
- The expected
reduction, if any, in the amount of cocaine and heroin entering the
United States as a result of the President's Andean Counterdrug Initiative
within the expected time schedule; and
- The mission
and objectives of United States Armed Forces personnel and civilian
contractors employed by the United States in connection with such
assistance, and the threats to their safety in Colombia.
The State Department
submitted the report on December 3, 2002. It is available on
this site.
Migration
and Refugee Assistance
The Senate version
of the legislation included $50 million for migration and refugee assistance,
an item that was not in the Bush Administration's original request.
The Conference Commitee's final version includes $40 million in migration
and refugee assistance. The committee's non-binding report language
calls for $10 million of this money to assist internally displaced people
in Colombia. (This same recommendation appeared in the International
Narcotics Control section of the House Appropriation's committee's non-binding
report.)
Full
Senate
The full Senate debated
the supplemental appropriations bill on June 4-7. The Colombia provisions
came up for debate briefly when Sen. Bob Graham (D-Florida) introduced
an amendment to restore the mission-expansion
languge to the Defense Department section of the bill (see above
for a fuller explanation). The amendment, which was withdrawn without
a vote, sparked a brief debate. The bill passed with no major changes
to its Colombia provisions.
Senate
Appropriations Committee
The Senate Appropriations
Committee "marked up" (wrote the text of) its version of the
supplemental appropriations bill (S. 2551) on Thursday, May 23.
- Text
of Senate bill
and committee report
(link to U.S. Congress "Thomas" website)
House
of Representatives
On May 22-23, the
full House considered H.R. 4775, the 2002 supplemental appropriations
bill. One amendment was considered: that sponsored by Reps. Jim McGovern
(D-Massachusetts) and Ike Skelton (D-Missouri). The provision would have
eliminated language broadening the mission of U.S. military aid beyond
counternarcotics to include counter-terrorism. The amendment lost by a
vote of 192-225.
The House Appropriations
Committee issued its report on the bill on May 20, 2002.
- Text
of House bill
and committee report
(link to U.S. Congress "Thomas" website)
- Additional
views
of Rep. Jose Serrano (D-New York) in House Appropriations Committee
Report 107-480
Bush administration request
|
Resolution:
by voice vote on March 6, 2002, the House of Representatives
passed H.Res. 358, a non-binding resolution calling for legislation
to aid Colombia's fight against "foreign terrorist organizations
and the scourge of illicit narcotics."
|
On March 21, 2002,
the Bush administration submitted to Congress a request for "supplemental"
funding for Colombia - additional aid to be spent in the current year,
as soon as Congress approves it. The Colombia money is part of a much
larger ($27.1 billion) request for additional funding for the "war
on terrorism" and homeland security.
The House International
Relations Committee did not meet on April 25, as originally expected,
to mark up the part of the administration's request that would expand
the mission of U.S. aid beyond counter-narcotics. Though no official reason
was given for the cancellation, an apparent lack of support from committee
members appears to have forced the withdrawal. [Proposed
International Relations Committee bill language (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf]
format) (Español)]
