Speech by Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Alabama), March 29, 2000

Speech by Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Alabama), March 29, 2000
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Callahan).

(Mr. CALLAHAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

[TIME: 1515]

Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

The Obey amendment would strike from this bill the U.S. aid to the Colombian army while still allowing the Human Rights, Justice and Alternative Development System to go forward. In return, he proposes that the House be allowed expedited consideration of the appropriations for the money later this year.

But let me tell my colleagues the fallacy. While I am sure that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) is sincere in his belief that we should delay this, and certainly he comes forth with some good justification, let us put the scenario where it is.

President Pastrana has gone to the international community, as well as his own country, and developed collectively a package of about $7.5 billion to participate in this Colombia plan. Our share, according to the President's request, will be $1.3 billion. If, indeed, we today indicate to the guerillas in Colombia that we are not sufficiently interested to vote on this issue today and to send the message that we are going to participate, it is going to disable the ability of President Pastrana to go to the European Community and to the Japanese community and the others who have also pledged assistance. It is also going to cause him consternation in his own country, because it is going to be a political defeat for his plan.

Here we have a President in Colombia who has said he wants to cooperate with the United States of America to assist us in our efforts to stop the importation of drugs that originate in his country.

Mr. Chairman, if we delay this today, it is a wrong message; and the gentleman from Wisconsin I think would agree with that. If, indeed, the President is wrong and we do not have the confidence in our President to go along with what he considers the number one priority in this country today and thus, he says, is the reason for this emergency declaration.

So if one disagrees with the President, that is certainly one's prerogative. I disagree with him on a lot of things. I disagreed with him when he ran for the presidency of the United States and voted for Bob Dole and before that, for George Bush. That is not the issue. The issue is the commander in chief has said this is what we should do today, not in July, not in August, not in September, not get it involved in the appropriations process, which is probably going to be October or November before we finish.

So I urge my colleagues today to vote against the Obey amendment. Let us make the declaration. Do we support the President of the United States? Do we want to fight drugs in this manner, or do we want to procrastinate and send a message to the guerillas in Colombia that we are really not as concerned as the president of Colombia is and send the message to the European Community and the other communities that have agreed to supplement our $1.3 billion with an additional $1.7 billion, plus the $4 billion that Colombia itself is contributing?

As of March 30, 2000, this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r106:H29MR0-173: