Speech by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), June 21, 2000

Speech by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), June 21, 2000
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, there are United States units that don't have Blackhawks yet, that will have to wait while Blackhawks are produced to send to Colombia, which could

get by on Hueys. My good friend from Connecticut has made a good case for a home State product, the Blackhawk helicopter. The Blackhawk is not made in Kentucky. The Huey is not made in Kentucky. What I am concerned about, as chairman of this subcommittee, is two things: No. 1, the fact that even U.S. units don't have Blackhawks yet and will have to wait, as I just said, while these are sent to Colombia. And, No. 2 is the cost of operation.

We are not going to have $1 billion to spend on Colombia every year. This is a unique year in which we are debating whether to spend $1 billion on the drug war in Colombia--an unusual year. But the cost of operating these Blackhawks, if we go in that direction, is going to come back every year and that is $1,000 an hour more than operating the Huey--$1,000 an hour more than operating the Huey.

As the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee just pointed out, and also the chairman of the Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, the Huey will get the job done for a lower cost to the United States. The foreign operations account is going to have to pay for these operational costs, as I just pointed out, not just this year but the year after that and the year after that and the year after that. That means we will have to cut into other accounts to keep these helicopters flying.

That is the reason the subcommittee decided to go with the Huey because we think the Huey will get the job done at less cost this year, next year, and in years down the road, which is not to say I am sure the Colombians would not like to have Blackhawks; I am sure they would. All of our U.S. units that need them would like to have them, too, and they don't have them yet. So that is the reason for the recommendation of the subcommittee.

I hope when we subsequently vote on the Dodd amendment it will be defeated. Mr. President, with that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

As of June 25, 2000, this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r106:S21JN0-228: