Providing for Consideration of H.R. 2601, Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2601, FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 2006 AND 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 19, 2005)

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule.

Last night, the Republican leadership decided to refuse this House the right to debate U.S. policy towards Colombia. Out of 70 amendments that were submitted to the Rules Committee, only two dealt substantively with U.S. Colombia policy. I offered an amendment to match language approved by the Senate that would strengthen the accountability over U.S. funds for Colombia's demobilization of right-wing paramilitary forces. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) offered another amendment to ensure that 40 percent of U.S. aid to Colombia would be used for alternative economic development, human rights, rule of law and strengthening democratic institutions.

Well, Mr. Speaker, when it comes to strengthening democratic institutions, the Republican leadership certainly does not believe in teaching the Colombians by example. At the end of June, I stood here on the House floor during debate on military aid to Colombia and was criticized by Republicans for not talking about what kind of policy I stood for. But here we are today taking up a bill that only comes to the House floor every 2 years and is one of the only bills where an amendment on U.S. Colombia policy can actually be offered, and both the Lee and the McGovern amendments are banned from the debate.

Mr. Speaker, once again the Republican leadership has rejected any attempt to bring some kind of accountability to our policy on Colombia. Once again, the Republican leadership is serving as the chief apologist for the Colombian government. When it comes to Colombia, the Republican leadership continues to engage in a policy of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Once again, the House is being asked to look the other way, to sit down and to shut up, as Colombia moves towards carrying out what appears to be a deeply flawed plan for demobilizing the right-wing paramilitary forces, forces that are on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations. The State Department estimates it will cost about $80 million to carry out the demobilization. Who do you think the Colombian government is going to ask to bankroll this process? The American taxpayer, that is who.

Well, before we spend one more single solitary U.S. tax dollar on this demobilization process, I for one want to make sure that my tax dollars are not paying for some sweetheart deal for Colombian drug lords, terrorists and killers to escape extradition to the United States or serve a couple of years under house arrest at their country estate. These are the paramilitary masterminds and commanders who have flooded our streets and our neighborhoods with cocaine and heroin. Yet on July 1, President Uribe told the Voice of America that their extradition warrants would have to be suspended. If Colombia wants to stand in the way of these drug lords facing U.S. justice, then that is Colombia's decision. They can just do it without U.S. tax dollar support. I want to make sure that my constituents' hard-earned tax dollars are not paying for a process that will allow paramilitary money laundering and organizational structures to remain intact so that they can transform themselves into Mafia-like political, social and criminal networks.

The OAS has denounced the Colombian law on the paramilitary demobilization. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have denounced it. The U.N. High Commissioner For Human Rights in Colombia has raised grave concerns about it. So why, then, Mr. Speaker, is it so hard for this House to even have a debate over having some accountability if the Colombian government asks us to fund this process?

That is all I want, Mr. Speaker, is a little bit of accountability. Quite frankly, the majority on the Rules Committee and the Republican leadership should be ashamed of themselves for running away from this debate and for being complicit in a policy that will very likely end up protecting drug lords, terrorists, killers and their profits from facing any kind of genuine justice.

Oppose this rule. Demand that the House be allowed to debate the Lee and McGovern amendments on Colombia.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I want to point out to the gentleman that when the Committee on International Relations marked up the provisions on the Colombia issues, this new law in Colombia had not been passed yet. This is since the markup in the committee. So we are dealing with a new law that may very well let go terrorists, killers, paramilitary leaders who have done harm not only to Colombian citizens, but to our citizens. So we need a debate on Colombia.

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