Speech by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), October 24, 2001

Speech by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), October 24, 2001
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I reserve myself 3 1/2 minutes.

I don't want Senators to think we are not putting money in for counterdrug programs in this bill. We have included $718 million for the Andean Region Initiative. We will have put $2 billion in there in just the last 16 months. The administration's own witnesses couldn't tell us how much was disbursed, and for what purposes. And they cannot show what we have gotten from it. So we have an act of faith here, putting in another $718 million.

What the $164 million cut in other programs the Senator from Florida proposes, to add to the $718 million already in the bill--where do we cut? This is sort an across-the-board kind of open-ended cut which allows cuts to come from military, economic, or other assistance to anywhere, including countries such as Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.

It could be cut from HIV/AIDS, from money the President and others have promised to help combat the worst health crisis in half a millennium; from money to cure TB and prevent malaria; from military assistance, including aid to NATO allies and the former Soviet republics. It could cut the Peace Corps. We increased money for the Peace Corps, but those increases may be gone if we do this cut.

Or the Eximbank, when many companies are laying people off today.

It could cut refugee and disaster relief assistance for places such as Sudan and the Caucasus.

How about programs to stop the spread of biological, nuclear, and chemical weapons? This is certainly not a time when we should be cutting those programs; or the money we have in here to strengthen surveillance and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases, including diseases that may come here in a terrorist attack; or our money for UNICEF and peacekeeping operations.

Do we really want to cut those programs, when we have already put $718 million in for the Andean region?

I don't want to cut the Peace Corps. I don't want to cut funding for AIDS. But we will if this passes.

Obviously, the Senate has to make up its mind about what it wants. But even without this amendment, we are going to have $718 million on top of billions already in this program, a program that has millions of dollars which they have yet to spend.

I want to help. I set aside my own misgivings about this program by putting in the $718 million. But I remind the 81 Senators who have sent letters requesting increases in everything from Peace Corps to AIDS that this is where this money would come from.

I reserve the remainder of my time.

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