Statement by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), May 9, 2000

Statement by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), May 9, 2000
News From Statement by U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd
Colombia Amendment
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
May 9, 2000

Mr Chairman, I offer an amendment intended to provide safeguards to prevent the U.S. proposal for assistance to the anti-narcotics initiative called Plan Colombia from succumbing to the siren song of mission creep.

The President has asked Congress to provide $1.6 billion dollars to fight drug cultivation and production in Colombia. While drug eradication is a cause that I wholeheartedly support, I am concerned about the large number of questions surrounding the President's plan. I understand how the money is to be spent, but I am unclear as to what the results are expected to be. What precise impact is the U.S. assistance expected to have on the production of cocaine and heroin in Colombia? What impact will it have on the import of Colombian cocaine and heroin into the United States? What impact will massive U.S. assistance to Colombia have on drug production in other Andean Ridge nations? And, most importantly, what impact will this initiative have on reducing drug abuse and the toll of the illegal drug trade within in the United States?

I am also concerned that the Administration has used the vehicle of an emergency supplemental appropriations package to request this funding. A major anti-narcotics program in Central America, anchored on the provision of U.S. military equipment and U.S. military advisers, seems to me to be a policy issue that begs for in depth Congressional discussion and consideration.

Providing a framework for that discussion is the primary intent of my amendment. This amendment would require to the Administration to seek and receive congressional authorization before spending any money on U.S. support for Plan Colombia beyond the funding contained in the supplemental appropriations measure being considered today. If this funding is sufficient, all well and good. But if more money is needed to prolong or expand the anti-drug effort, then Congress has a responsibility to re-evaluate the entire program. The purpose of this provision is to prevent the U.S. government from slowly but steadily increasing its participation in the anti-narcotics effort in Colombia until it finds itself embroiled in, at best, a costly and never-ending anti-drug campaign throughout the Andean Ridge, or, at worst, a bloody civil war in Colombia.

A secondary goal of my amendment is to limit the number of U.S. personnel engaged in the counter-narcotics offensive in Colombia to specific levels unless Congress approves higher levels of U.S. personnel.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Defense Department indicated that it would not be opposed to troop caps. This is a prudent measure that Congress should approve to ensure that U.S. involvement does not unwittingly spiral out of control in Colombia.

Mr. Chairman, the war against illegal drugs is vitally important to the future of our nation and our neighboring nations, but it is the responsibility of Congress to ensure that we are allocating U.S. taxpayers' dollars in the most effective manner possible. Congress cannot make that determination without fully exploring the goals and potential ramifications of this effort to provide assistance to Colombia. My amendment provides the minimum necessary safeguards to ensure congressional oversight of Plan Colombia, and I urge its adoption.