Speech
by Rep. John Mica (R-Florida), June 9, 2006
Mr. MICA.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for yielding me time on this.
I have worked on this issue for a number of years in Congress. I have
seen failed policies and I have seen successful policies. The worst
thing we could do today would be to cut the funds to Colombia. What
a horrible message we would send. Let me just describe what is taking
place, the policy of failure, the policy of success.
I chaired the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy Subcommittee. That was one
of the responsibilities Speaker Hastert had before I inherited it from
him. He chaired the National Security Subcommittee that had that responsibility.
We did everything we could during the Clinton administration to get
resources to Colombia. The liberals did everything they could to keep
resources going to Colombia. The policy was a policy of failure. It
was a policy of death and destruction. Thousands of people were slaughtered
while the liberals in Congress and the administration denied aid to
Colombia. Policemen were killed by the thousands. Members of the legislature,
members of the Cabinet, people on the street, villages were wiped out
because they did not want to send the necessary aid to Colombia.
President Bush, thank God for President Bush and his action and his
policy of success. He took a policy of success. He put the resources
there. The murders are down dramatically. The last speaker spoke about
creating economic opportunity. How can you create economic opportunity
or economic activity when there is slaughter and chaos in the streets?
I went down with President Pastrana, and he wanted to sing Kumbayah
with the terrorists and the leftists, and that approach did not work.
People continued to get slaughtered, and the drugs came into this country
in unprecedented amounts.
Ask DEA about drugs, about heroin. At the beginning of the Clinton administration,
you know how much heroin was produced in Colombia? Zero. Look at it
now, and look at it over the past years. It flooded into our streets
and killed our children and our most productive citizens and those with
potential in this country by the thousands and has left thousands being
destroyed in Colombia.
This is a horrible amendment. It would be a horrible step backwards
to bring drugs into this country to stop a policy, and now we have been
blessed not only with a President with strong determination and a good,
successful policy in this country, but one in that country who just
got reelected, and to cut his legs out from under him at this juncture,
when he has experienced success, not only have we stopped the killings
and the murders and the slaughters there and stopped people from dying
in our streets, the economy has dramatically increased, almost doubled
in Colombia since Presidents Bush and Uribe's policies have taken place.
This would be a step backward. This is a step towards death, destruction
and drugs coming into our country. I have had it with the liberals who
allowed this to happen and let thousands of people go to their deaths
in Colombia, who allowed drugs to proliferate in that country and create
and finance narco-terrorism which destroyed some of that region and
thousands of lives there and thousands of lives here.
If we pass that amendment, it is a horrible step back. I cannot tell
you how important this amendment is, not only to the lives in Colombia,
but to the lives of the young men and women and those in this country
that have been victims. I urge people to vote this down in huge numbers.
As of June
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