[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 611 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 611

        To close the United States Army School of the Americas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 1997

Mr. Kennedy of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. Meehan, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. 
 Bonior, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Stark, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Vento, Mr. Conyers, 
 Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, 
  Mr. Markey, Mr. McDermott, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Klug, Mr. 
  Serrano, Mr. Gejdenson, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Olver, Ms. McKinney, Mr. 
Shays, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Kleczka, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Borski, Mr. Evans, 
 Mr. Minge, Mr. Barcia, Mr. Baldacci, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. 
 Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. Towns, Mr. Engel, Mr. Brown of California, 
and Mr. Hall of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on National Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To close the United States Army School of the Americas.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The School is the only large United States training 
        facility in which foreign military personnel are not integrated 
        into regular United States military training courses.
            (2) Closing the School would not bar United States training 
        of Latin American armed forces--but simply require that it take 
        place in the normal fashion, alongside United States military 
        personnel in their regular classes, as is the case with other 
        foreign military trainees in the United States.
            (3) Continued operation of the School of the Americas, with 
        its history and tradition of abusive graduates, stands as a 
        barrier to establishing a new and constructive relationship 
        with Latin American militaries after the cold war.
            (4) The United States Army School of the Americas graduates 
        include some of the worst human rights abusers in our 
        hemisphere, including:
                    (A) El Salvador death squad leader Roberto 
                D'Abuisson.
                    (B) Panamanian dictator and drug dealer Manuel 
                Noriega.
                    (C) Haitian coup leader Raoul Cedras.
                    (D) Nineteen Salvadoran soldiers linked to the 1989 
                murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her 
                daughter.
                    (E) Col. Julio Roberto Alpirez, Guatemalan officer 
                linked in the deaths of an American innkeeper.
                    (F) Hector Gramajo, former Guatemalan defense 
                minister found liable in United States court for 
                abduction, rape, and torture of Sister Dianna Ortiz, a 
                United States citizen.
                    (G) Argentinian dictator Leopoldo Galtieri, leader 
                of the ``dirty little war'' responsible for the deaths 
                of 30 civilians.
                    (H) Two of the three killers of Archbishop Oscar 
                Romero of El Salvador.
                    (I) Ten of the twelve officers responsible for the 
                murder of 900 civilians in the El Salvadoran village El 
                Mozote.
                    (J) Three of the five officers involved in the 1980 
                rape and murder of four United States churchwomen in El 
                Salvador.
            (5) Continued operation of the School continues to 
        associate the United States with the abuses of its graduates.
            (6) In October, 1996, then Secretary of Defense Perry 
        announced that the United States plans to create an Inter-
        American Center for Defense Studies to provide professional 
        training and education relevant to defense management in a 
        democratic constitutional context to individuals from 
        throughout the Americas.

SEC. 2. CLOSURE OF UNITED STATES ARMY SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS.

    (a) Closure Required.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall close the 
military education and training facility known as the United States 
Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia.
    (b) Repeal of Statutory Authority.--Section 4415 of chapter 407 of 
title 10, United States Code, is repealed. The table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter 407 of such title is amended by striking out the 
item relating to such section.
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