STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Bill in Congress to stop funding of Colombian drug war > > Friends - > Things are picking up here in Washington. Congress is > quickly moving on funding of the Colombian drug war > for the next fiscal year.. and continued fumigation. > PLEASE HELP! Enclosed is a legislative update on > Colombia. > > 1)Please call your member of Congress before July 10 > 2) Please pass this along to your friends. > > Thanks SO much. > Kerry for the > SOA Watch staff > > SOA Watch and Latin America Working Group Colombia Update: June 28, 2001 A > Chance to say NO to Colombia Military aid and > Fumigation > > Please see the bottom of this alert for background information on the Andean > Regional Initiative, Bush's proposal for counternarcotics aid to the Andes. > This year, the counternarcotics aid requested by the > Bush administration for Colombia and the Andean region comes up in the > Congress as part of two of the regular annual appropriations bills (main > budget bills which designate money to different areas, such as foreign > operations, agriculture, and energy). > > The bulk of the aid is included in the Foreign Operations > Appropriations Bill; the rest will be in the defense appropriations bill, > which has not yet started moving in congress. The Foreign Ops > Appropriations bill started on June 27th in the House Foreign Operations > Subcommittee, where the first draft of the bill was > "marked up" or debated and voted on. The debate during the markup showed > that there is increasing support for cutting military aid and putting a > moratorium on fumigation. See below for details on > the markup. > > Update and Urgent Action: House From the subcommittee, the bill goes now to > the full Appropriations Committee on July 10 and then to the > House floor around July 17th. On both these dates, there are likely to be > amendments offered to the bill which would cut US military aid to Colombia > and put a brake on fumigation. > > Please contact your representative before July 10 if they are on the > Appropriations Committee to tell them to vote YES on amendments to cut > Colombian military aid and YES on amendments to stop or place a > moratorium on fumigation until serious alternative development programs are > ready. If you get an indication of how a member will vote, please e-mail > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a report. > > Thank your members who supported these amendments in the markup! On June > 27th, Rep. Rothman (D-NJ) offered an amendment to place a moratorium on > fumigation and Reps. Pelosi (D-CA), Lowey (D-NY) and Jackson (D-IL) spoke in > favor; Rep. Kingston (R-GA) expressed > concerns as well. Rep. Pelosi offered an amendment to cut $100 million from > military aid to Colombia and spend it instead on international tuberculosis > programs. Reps. Wicker (R-MS), Lowey, and Obey (D-WI) spoke in favor. All > of these members should be thanked by their constituents. While these > amendments were withdrawn and not brought to a vote, they served to bring > attention to how controversial Colombia policy has become. Because of the > strong debate on > these issues in subcommittee, it is likely that other amendments will be > offered by these members and others when the bill goes to the full > Appropriations Committee and the House floor. > > House Appropriations Committee members: > Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL) > Henry Bonilla (R-TX) > F. Allen Boyd (D-FL) > Sonny Callahan (R-AL) > James Clyburn (D-SC) > Robert "Bud" E. Jr. Cramer (D-AL) > Randy Cunningham (R-CA) > Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) > Tom DeLay (R-TX) > Norman Dicks (D-WA) > John Doolittle (R-CA) > Chet Edwards (D-TX) > Jo Ann H. Emerson (R-MO) > Sam Farr (D-CA) > Chaka Fattah (D-PA) > Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) > Virgil H. Goode (D-VA) > Kay Granger (R-TX) > Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) > David Hobson (R-OH) > Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) > Ernest, Jr. Istook (R-OK) > Jesse Jackson (D-IL) > Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) > Partick J. Kennedy (D-RI) > Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (D-MI) > Jack Kingston (R-GA) > Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI) > Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) > Ray LaHood (R-IL) > Tom Latham (R-IA) > Jerry Lewis (R-CA) > Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) > Carrie Meek (D-FL) > Dan Miller (R-FL) > Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV) > James P. Moran (D-VA) > John P. Murtha (D-PA) > George R. Nethercutt (R-WA) > Anne M. Northup (R-KY) > David R. Obey (D-WI) > John W. Olver (D-MA) > Ed Pastor (D-AZ) > Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) > John E. Peterson (R-PA) > David E.Price (D-NC) > Ralph Regula (R-OH) > Harold Rogers (R-KY) > Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ) > Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) > Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN) > Jose Serrano (D-NY) > Joe Skeen (R-NM) > John E. Sununu (R-NH) > John E. Sweeney (R-NY) > Charles H. Taylor (R-NC) > Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) > Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN) > David Vitter (R-LA) > James T. Walsh (R-NY) > Zach Wamp (R-TN) > Roger Wicker (R-MS) > Frank R. Wolf (R-VA) > C.W. Bill Young (R-FL) > > Update and Urgent Action: Senate > The Senate Foreign Operations Subcommittee will consider the foreign > operations appropriations bill during the third week of July. Members of > the subcommittee and the full appropriations committee should hear from > constituents. Please contact both your senators, doing so before July 15 if > they are on the appropriations committee, and tell them your opinion on US > military aid to Colombia and the > fumigation policy. > > Senate Appropriations Committee Members: > Democrats: > Robert Byrd (WV) > Daniel Inouye (HI) > Ernest Hollings (SC) > Patrick Leahy (VT) > Tom Harkin (IA) > Barbara Mikulski (MD) > Harry Reid (NV) > Herb Kohl (WI) > Patty Murray (WA) > Byron Dorgan (ND) > Dianne Feinstein (CA) > Richard Durbin (IL) > > Republicans: > Ted Stevens (AK) > Thad Cochran (MS) > Arlen Specter (PA) > Pete Domenici (NM) > Christopher Bond (MO) > Mitch McConnell (KY) > Conrad Burns (MT) > Richard Shelby (AL) > Judd Gregg (NH) > Robert Bennett (UT) > Ben Nighthorse Campbell (CO) > Larry Craig (ID) > Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) > Jon Kyl (AZ) > > It is crucial to voice our opinions on current US policy in Colombia and the > Andean region at each stage in the process. Please spread the word and > contact your senators and representatives as soon as possible! > > Background. In late March, the Bush Administration announced its plans to > continue a military counter-drug strategy in the Andes with its proposed > "Andean Regional Initiative"(ARI). This initiative > requests military and social and economic aid for Colombia and its > neighbors: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, and Panama. Most of > this aid will come through the regular foreign operations > appropriations bill, but additional aid will come through the defense > appropriations bill. > > Together, the aid totals about $1 billion in military and police > assistance and economic and social aid to the Andean region for 2002 (this > is on top of the $1.3 billion two-year package approved last year). The > administration intends to send a massive $363.04 > million in training, spare parts and equipment for Colombia's military and > police forces. The administration is selling the ARI package as > "balanced," with 50% of the money going to regional security forces and 50% > for social and economic development. However, the request for Colombia is > still 71% military. The package also includes sharp > increases in military aid for all of Colombia's neighbors. The one positive > element, a result of all of the criticism last year, is an increase in > alternative development assistance (crop substitution > programs) to a number of countries in the region. > > This action alert was written by the Latin America Working Group. For more > information, please see either of these websites at > > www.soaw.org or call 202-234-3440 > > www.lawg.org or call 202/546-7010. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
