Speech by Rep.
Henry Hyde (R-Illinois), March 15, 2006
Mr. HYDE.
Mr. Chairman, after 7 years of work on anti-narcotic efforts in Colombia,
we are now seeing the fruits of our labors in the drug wars. Americans,
and especially our young people, are greatly benefiting here at home
from our policies in Colombia and the strong support of the government
of President Alvaro Uribe.
We are concerned, however, with the recent waning support by some in
the administration for our vital counterdrug initiatives. A focused
part of our war on drugs is comprised of the interdiction and spray
airplanes used by the Colombian police and military. We have funded
a number of these aircraft, but several have been lost because of serious
maintenance problems or have been shot down or destroyed.
Since the year 2000, more than 23 aircraft, including spray planes and
vital helicopters, have crashed or been lost in action. This includes
one of the original Black Hawk helicopters which we in the Congress
obtained for the Colombian National Police, CNP, to use against the
opium crops as early as 1999. The administration's FY07 budget fails
to address these shortfalls.
Moreover, after some correspondence, the State Department dismissed
my recent call for the replacement of these aircraft.
What we need is a small, but targeted, assistance package to replace
lost anti-drug aircraft and to provide a few new Marine Patrol Aircraft,
MPA, of modest cost for the Colombian Navy. We are asking that $99.4
million be directed for the operational costs of maintaining and replacing
aircraft used by the Colombian police and military for drug interdiction
efforts.
Of that $99.4 million, we ask for $31 million to be allocated for the
purchase and operation of ten Huey II helicopters, $40 million be used
for the purchase and operation of two UH-60 Black Hawks, one of which
will be dedicated to interdicting high value targets, HVT, $2 million
to be given toward the upgrade and purchase of flight simulators to
be used by the CNP for training on safety and night operations, and
$26.4 million to be allocated for the purchase and operation of three
DC-3 aircraft which will be used by the Colombian Navy as Marine Patrol
Aircraft for multi-role shore interdiction and support missions.
The assistance we provide to Colombia is equally as important to the
United States as our assistance in fighting terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lest we forget, more Americans die each year from using deadly heroin
and cocaine that originate from nearby Colombia than did those on the
day of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.
We must continue to sustain our war against drugs and the progress we
have been witnessing in Colombia.
As of June
13, 2006 this page was also available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r109:FLD001:H51010
