McCollum Introduces Amendment to Cut Funding for Military Funding to Plan Colombia
McCollum Introduces Amendment to Cut Funding for Military Funding to Plan Colombia
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) joined Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-03) and Rep. Dennis Moore (KS-03) to cut $100 million in military aid to Colombia from the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006 (HR 3057). Colombia remains the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign assistance with at least 80 percent of U.S. assistance for military aid. In the past six years, over $4 billion of U.S. taxpayer money has been spent on Plan Colombia, a mission to end the country's long armed conflict, eliminate drug trafficking, and promote economic and social development.
"Six years and over $4 billion dollars later, Plan Colombia has not reduced the supply of cocaine on our streets, but has succeeded in making cocaine in America cheaper, more available and more potent than ever before," said McCollum.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, cocaine remains readily available in the streets of America with whole sale and retail prices at an all time low and purity at or near a historical high. Plan Colombia has not only failed the drug war, it has failed to end the civil war, provide agricultural, entrepreneurial or development opportunities to Colombia's rural and urban poor.
"U.S. policy in Colombia is severely flawed on all fronts. Spending another $735 million to stay the wrong course is irresponsible," said McCollum. "Unfortunately, Plan Colombia has not made the Colombian people any safer."
Violence and human rights abuses continue unabated. There are currently over 3 million internally displaced people in Colombia and thousands more have fled to neighboring countries. Ninety percent of violent crimes - murders and rapes - go unpunished, and human rights abuses among Colombia's military and law enforcement are common.
With 207 Republicans opposing, the McCollum-McGovern-Moore amendment failed by a vote of 189 to 234.
http://mccollum.house.gov/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={F48C5ABB-F54E-4941-A054-09B0424987DC}&DE={463955FE-BCB4-4635-8CE5-277C5ECE2FFC}