Speech by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), June 22, 2000

Speech by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), June 22, 2000
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, this amendment covers resources in the Department of Defense and it deals with matters with which we are dealing in the supplemental right now. I do not want to mislead the Senate. We are trying to settle this matter in a conference on the military construction bill with the supplemental portions associated with it. I am perfectly happy to see the Senate express its point of view on the Colombia money, but in terms of the item as a place in the Department of Defense portion of the Colombia money, it really has been objected to by the Department of Defense, and as

chairman of the Defense Subcommittee, I strenuously object to it.

We should be in the position of determining how defense money is spent, how Armed Forces personnel are governed when they are abroad, and we should not take the occasion now to put limitations on the use of defense assets in connection with the war on drugs.

I just returned from Key West, Tampa, and Alameda in California. I know some of the defense assets we are using to supplement the activities in the war on drugs. I am very reluctant to see the Senate act on a bill at this time like this to set down rules that apply to the use of defense personnel, defense assets, and defense money in connection with the war on drugs.

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