Speech by Rep. Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina), March 29, 2000

Speech by Rep. Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina), March 29, 2000
Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford).

Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Chairman, I want to make a couple of points: One, basic economics, as the gentleman from California pointed out, the gentleman said supply always equals demand. If we push down supply here but do nothing about demand, we can be sure from Guyana or Venezuela or a lot of other places supply will be there to meet it.

Two, my wife got a $218 ticket the other day for turning left on a green light in front of oncoming traffic. If she had been caught instead with a noncommercial quantity of marijuana in her car, she would have gotten a $125 fine instead of a $218 fine. We are not serious about this war on drugs.

Three, Colombia does not have a shootdown policy and, yet, we are about to send over a billion dollars. For that matter, America does not have a shootdown policy.

Finally, we have a flawed strategy. In military, you have to effect the center of gravity. You have to eliminate an enemy's ability to make war. We do not do that; what we are offering here is a false promise.

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