Speech by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Virginia), July 15, 2004

Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, as we consider the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill today, it is important to reaffirm our commitment to our counternarcotics efforts in Colombia, to the people of Colombia, and to American citizens. I led three congressional delegations to Colombia last year and can say first hand that our significant investment, after years of effort, is beginning to see returns on the time, money, and resources spent in Colombia. Together with the strong commitment of President Alvaro Uribe and historic levels of support from the Colombian people, U.S. involvement is beginning to hit narcoterrorists where it hurts.

This year, the Administration is seeking a modest increase in the number of U.S. support personnel in Colombia. The existing caps on the number of U.S. civilian and military personnel contractors allowed in Colombia at any given time are proving too restrictive and in some cases, the ceilings, have prevented full implementation of already funded programs and hurt management efficiency.

An increase in the military and civilian contractor support provided to the Government of Colombia during the next two years is essential to maintain the current progress being made by our programs in Colombia. There are also new programs developed since the ceilings were established, such as the anti-kidnapping initiative and the training of prosecutors and judicial police in preparation for the constitutionally-mandated transition to an accusatorial criminal justice system with oral trials, as well as the re-started Air Bridge Denial program that need to be fully supported by personnel.

Last month, several senior Administration officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roger Noriega, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, Thomas O'Connell, Commander of U.S. Southern Command, General James Hill, and Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Robert Charles testified before the Government Reform Committee and conveyed the need to reexamine military and civilian personnel caps if we are to continue in the right direction.

Accordingly, there is draft language included in the 2005 Defense Authorization bill that raises the number of military personnel permitted to 800 and the number of permitted civilian contractors to 600. The Administration's request to increase the number of troops and contractors deployable is critical to the continued success of U.S. policy in Colombia and to help President Uribe prosecute a unified campaign against terrorism and drug traffickers. Mr. Chairman, I strongly support this request and urge all of my colleagues to continue their support of our unified campaign with Colombia to fight narcotics trafficking and terrorist activities.

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