Speech by Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-New York), June 29, 2000

Speech by Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-New York), June 29, 2000

Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I compliment all those who worked so hard to bring this Military Construction bill which contains an emergency antidrug aid package to the floor today. Passage of this bill affects every school, hospital, courtroom, neighborhood, in all of our communities throughout America.

This bill will provide sorely needed assistance to our allies in Colombia who are all on the front lines in the war against illegal drugs. The numbers have been shocking. Eighty percent of the cocaine, 75 percent of the heroin consumed in our Nation comes from Colombia. Illegal drugs have been costing our society more than $100 billion per year, costing also 15,000 young American lives each year.

As a result of inattention from the administration, the civil war in Colombia is going badly for that government. This past weekend alone, 26 antidrug police were killed by the narcoterrorists in Colombia. The specter of a consolidated narcostate only 3 hours by plane from Miami has made it patently clear that our Nation's vital security interests are at stake.

As the sun begins to set on his administration, President Clinton is finally facing the reality of the Colombian drug-fueled crisis with this emergency supplemental request. As former Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter eloquently noted, and I quote, `wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late.'

Heroes like Colombia's antidrug leader General Jose Serrano want our Nation to stand with them in their fight against the drug lords, including the right-wing paramilitaries. This legislation provides more assistance where it can do the most good with the Colombian antidrug police. Colombia is not asking for nor should we offer American troops in that war. Investing American aid dollars now in Colombia to stem the hundredfold cost to our society only makes common sense. It is a proper role for our government. We at the Federal level have the responsibility to help eradicate those drugs at their source.

Accordingly, I am urging our colleagues to support this package. Colombia's survival as a democracy and our own national security interests are at stake here.

As of July 18, 2000, this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r106:H29JN0-B744: