House Appropriations Committee Colombia Aid Proposal fact sheet, March 10, 2000

House Appropriations Committee Colombia Aid Proposal fact sheet, March 10, 2000
10 March 2000

Fact Sheet: House Appropriations Committee Colombia Aid Proposal
(Adds $500 million to Clinton aid request) (530)

A panel of the House of Representatives voted March 9 to approve $1,700 million in counter-narcotics aid to Colombia -- about $500 million more than requested by the Clinton Administration to help the government of President Andres Pastrana combat illegal drug trafficking in Colombia.

The Colombia aid is part of a $9,000 million emergency spending package that also includes money for peace-keeping operations in Kosovo and East Timor, and disaster relief in the United States.

Appropriations Committee aides told reporters that the spending bill would be submitted to a vote by the full House of Representatives within two weeks of the March 9 vote.

Following is the text of an Appropriations Committee fact sheet on the counter-narcotics provisions of the bill:

[Note: In the fact sheet, "billion" = 1,000 million.]

(begin text)

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Elizabeth Morra/John Scofield March 9, 2000 (202) 226-5828

Fact Sheet on Counter-narcotics Proposal

Total Funding

Committee Mark: $1.701 billion (Includes FY00 and FY01 funds to carry out the two year "Plan Colombia")

President's Request: $1.272 billion

Regional Approach

-- Committee Mark takes a more regional approach than the Administration request, providing more funds for other countries in the region (Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and others) so that problems associated with the cultivation, processing and trafficking of illegal narcotics are not simply relocated elsewhere in the region. President requested $76 million, we proposed increasing that amount by $61 million for a total of $137 million.

-- We provide the following increases above the President's request for the below countries: $33.6 million more than the President's request for Ecuador for a total of $81.2 million (Includes funds for three forward operating locations); $39 million more than the President's request for Bolivia for a total of $57 million; $5 million more than the President's request for Peru for a total $42 million; $6 million for other countries in the regions (Panama, Venezuela, etc.) for a total of $18 million.

More Resources for Colombian National Police

-- COLOMBIAN NATIONAL POLICE - Committee Mark decreases the amount of funds provided for the Colombian Military by $31 million from the President's request for a total of $470 million. We increase the amount for the Colombia National Police by $20.5 million over the President's request for a total $115.5 million.

-- BLACKHAWK HELICOPTERS - Clinton plan calls for 30 Blackhawks for Colombian Army. We propose 28 Blackhawks for Army and 2 for Colombian National Police.

Oversight and Human Rights

-- GREATER SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS -- Mark includes additional $5.5 million above the President for a total of $98.5 million to address human rights, judicial reform concerns and to aid the peace process.

-- CONTINUED COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT - No funds can be spent until the Secretary of State reports to Appropriations. Secretary must report 30 days after enactment of the legislation. Further, all funds will be subject to notification to the Appropriations Committee.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)

As of March 13, 2000, this document is also available at http://www.usia.gov/regional/ar/colombia/approp.htm