Date: 2006-06-09
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to any attempts to cut funding for the Andean Counterdrug Initiative. President Uribes reelection to a historic second term reaffirms the Colombian peoples commitment to his program of democratic security and the war on drugs. His popularity among Colombians illustrates how important the struggle against narcoterrorism is and it helps measure success over the last few years. Under Uribes leadership. Colombians finally have the courage to fight back against the FARC and the drug traffickers. And as the rest of the continent is moving away from the United States. Colombia remains our staunchest ally in South America. We need to reaffirm. not dismantle. our commitment to this program. to the people of Colombia. and to American citizens who want illegal drugs off their streets. I have led several congressional delegations to- Colombia during my time as chairman of the Government Reform Committee. andI can say firsthand - that our significant investment is paying dividends. Together. with the strong commitments of the Uribe administration and historic levels of support from the Colombian people. U.S. involvement in Colombia is beginning to hit narcoterrorism where it hurts. Mr. Chairman. how can we cut funding when we are seeing tremendous results in illegal crop eradication and record reductions in coca productions and the destruction of drug labs? Coca eradication through spraying . have gone from 47.000 hectares the first year of Plan Colombia to 138.000 last year. As a result of ACI funding. we are seeing unprecedented levels of drug interdictions. Drug flow to the U.S. has dropped by 7 percent. making American streets safer for our youth. Progress like this would not be possible under the amendment. The Colombian Government is reestablishing state presence in areas of the country that for decades have lacked it. All 1.098 Colombian municipalities now have a permanent presence thanks to President Uribes fearless efforts. Criminals who have remained at bay for years are being captured and extradited to the U.S. for prosecution. Colombia has extradited over 300 Colombian citizens to the U.S. since August of 2002. mostly on narcoticsrelated charges. How can we justify pulling the plug on the ACI funding when we are seeing record numbers of extraditions to the U.S. of FARC and drug cartel members? Over 30.000 paramilitaries have now been demobilized since President Uribe took office. Thousands of weapons and rounds of ammunition have been surrendered. The demobilization and reincorporation of illegal armed groups is part of a peace process that is providing stability to the entire Andean region. Colombians are finally beginning to feel safe and secure in their own country. Kidnappings are down by 51 percent and the murder rate has dropped to 13 percent. Mr. Chairman. Plan Colombia is working. I have seen firsthand the devastation that drug production and trafficking has on Colombia. To those who question our investment. I would ask them to visit. as I have. Colombian soldiers who have lost their limbs or eyesight or sustained permanent disability in their battle to return peace to their nation and to keep.drugs off American streets. I would also ask them to visit Barrio Nelson Mandela.-a USAIDsponsored facility for internally displaced people who have been forced from their homes by drug traffickers and guerrillas. This facility showed me how work on behalf of Colombias millions of internally displaced people is offering suffering men. women. and children a second chance at a violencefree and productive life. On a trip to Colombia last year. I accompanied the Colombian National Police to a manual eradication site in the Andean mountains and helped them pull the coca crop from the mountainous terrain that helicopters cant reach. These are dedicated people who literally risk their lives to destroy the drug trade and rid their country of drugs and violence. My travels to Colombia have shown me just how critical U.S. assistance is to their government. With such promising results over the last 5 years. we have to sustain this momentum. not wipe it out. Of course obstacles remain. The progress is slower than we would like it to be. But now is not the time to turn our backs on this battle that is so intrinsically tied to the war on terrorism and the scourge of illegal drug use. The Uribe administration. reelected with 62 percent of the vote last week. needs U.S. assistance to improve mobility. intelligence. and training. Make no mistake. Colombia today is doing its share. Spending on security forces has increased under President Uribe and continues in his second term. We simply cannot afford for President Uribe to fail in this heroic effort to rid his country of the narcoterrorist threat. nor would Colombians understand such a step if -this amendment prevails. Full funding of the Andean Counterdrug Initiative for FY 2007 is critical to sustaining our success in Colombia. It is simple. Mr. Chairman. Now is. not the time to turn our backs on the progress we are making against narcoterrorism in Colombia. We cant win this war on drugs and drugsupported terrorism without the proper tools and resources. And the message this sends to our allies would be devastating. I ask my colleagues to vote "no" on the McGovern amendment.