March
2000March
2000On Thursday, March 30th, the full House of Representatives approved the 2000 emergency supplemental aid package (HR 3908), which includes $1.7 billion in aid for Colombia (most of it for the military). Despite efforts by Democratic leaders, namely Rep. Obey (D-WI), Rep. Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. McGovern (D-MA), and Rep. Moakley (D-MA), to cut the money designated for military aid to Colombia, the supplemental package emerged with the Colombia package intact and without strong human rights conditions on aid for the Colombian military. Rep. Sawyer (D-OH) offered an amendment to provide $50 million in assistance for the displaced in Colombia. His amendment was approved without opposition and is a step forward in addressing this most urgent concern. The emergency supplemental bill is scheduled for consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, April 4th and from there it will move to the Senate floor. Call your senators now and urge them to oppose all military aid to Colombia. We must also ensure that strong human rights conditions prevail in the Senate bill. However, even with human rights conditions, the United States will become a major actor in Colombia's counterinsurgency war if the military aid for Colombia is approved.
Oppose the portion of the supplemental aid package that provides military aid to Colombia;
Support positive amendments to the supplemental package that cut, shift or condition military assistance to Colombia. Amendments are likely to be offered that: A. cut or shift funding from military assistance to positive social investments in Colombia B. add or shift funds for military assistance to demand reduction, education and treatment programs in the United States C. put strong human rights conditions on military assistance.
SPEAK-OUT! The more senators that speak out during the debate in the Senate, the better. Please ask your senators to share their concerns regarding human rights in Colombia with the Senate during the vote.
The following representatives voted in favor of an amendment to the supplemental offered by Rep. Obey (D-WI) to cut $551 million in aid for the Colombian military from the House version of the package. If your representative is on this list, please call him/her and thank them for doing the right thing. If your representative is NOT on the following list, please call him/her and express your disappointment that they did not support Obey's amendment, and urge them to oppose military aid to Colombia in the future.
Abercrombie, Ackerman, Allen, Andrews, Archer, Bachus, Baird, Baldacci, Baldwin, Barrett (WI), Becerra, Bentsen, Bereuter, Berry, Blagojevich, Blumenauer, Bonior, Boucher, Boyd, Brady (TX), Brown (OH), Camp, Campbell, Capps, Capuano, Carson, Castle, Chabot, Clayton, Coburn, Collins, Combest, Conyers, Cook, Costello, Cox, Coyne, Crowley, Davis (IL), Deal, DeFazio, DeGette, Delahunt, Deutsch, Dickey, Dicks, Dingell, Dixon, Doggett, Duncan, Ehlers, Engel, Eshoo, Evans, Farr, Filner, Fossella, Frost, Ganske, Gephardt, Gutierrez, Gutknecht, Hall (OH), Hall (TX), Hastings (FL), Hefley, Hill (MT), Hilleary, Hilliard, Hinchey, Hoekstra, Holt, Hooley, Horn, Hoyer, Hulshof, Inslee, Istook, Jackson (IL), Jackson-Lee (TX), Jenkins, Johnson, E. B., Jones (OH), Kaptur, Kennedy, Kildee, Kilpatrick, Kind (WI), Kingston, Kleczka, LaFalce, Largent, Leach, Lee, Levin, Lewis (GA), Lipinski, Lofgren, Lowey, Luther, Manzullo, Markey, Matsui, McCarthy, (MO), McDermott, McGovern, McInnis, McKinney, McNulty, Meehan, Meek (FL), Metcalf, Millender-McDonald, Miller, George, Minge, Mink, Moakley, Moran (KS), Morella, Nadler, Neal, Nethercutt, Oberstar, Obey, Olver, Owens, Pastor, Paul, Payne, Pelosi, Petri, Phelps, Pitts, Porter, Price (NC), Ramstad, Rivers, Rodriguez, Roemer, Rohrabacher, Roybal-Allard, Royce, Rush, Ryan (WI), Sabo, Sanchez, Sanders, Sanford, Schaffer, Schakowsky, Scott, Sensenbrenner, Serrano, Shadegg, Sherman, Skelton, Slaughter, Smith (MI), Spratt, Stark, Stearns, Stenholm, Stupak, Tancredo, Taylor (MS), Thompson (CA), Thornberry, Tiahrt, Tierney, Toomey, Towns, Udall (CO), Udall (NM), Upton, Velazquez, Vento, Visclosky, Watt (NC), Waxman, Weiner, Weldon (PA), Wexler, Wicker, Woolsey, Wu, Wynn.
This aid package will not only pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the most abusive military in the Western Hemisphere, but it will almost certainly destabilize fragile peace negotiations and undermine support of a negotiated settlement.
To avoid getting the United States more deeply involved with Colombia's infamous armed forces, I ask you to oppose aid to the Colombian army due to human rights concerns, especially army links at a regional and local level to brutal paramilitary forces.
Instead, I urge you to support a substantial positive aid package for Colombia, including: humanitarian relief for people displaced by violence; crop substitution programs for small farmers to switch from coca to legal crops; economic assistance; programs to strengthen Colombian government investigations into human rights violations and drug trafficking; aid for civil society efforts for human rights and peace.
Finally, because the United States "War on Drugs" is one that must be fought at home, I ask you to increase funding for drug treatment and prevention programs here in our own country.
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121 Or look up your members of Congress on the Internet: www.house.gov or www.senate.gov
For more information contact: Latin America Working Group: (202) 546-7010, lawg@lawg.org
U.S. Colombia/Coordinating Office (202) 232-8090, agiffen@igc.org
Alison Giffen
Director
U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office
Phone: 202-232-8090
Fax: 202-232-8092
Suite 200 1630 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington D.C. 20009
agiffen@igc.org
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