[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 16 (Wednesday, February 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                               NARCOTICS

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 23, 1994

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
draw your attention to the recent remarks by the gentleman from New 
York, Mr. Ben Gilman, before the 42d European Parliament/United States 
Congress Interparliamentary Meeting in Athens, Greece, regarding 
narcotics.
  At the meeting, Representative Gilman remarked on narcotics. In those 
remarks, he noted that drug trafficking is at an all time high. Not 
only does this problem hit us here in the United States, but it also 
affects other nations all over the globe. In Southeast Asia, for 
example, Burma has a never-ending growth rate in opium production and 
heroin trade. In Colombia, despite drug lord Escobar's death, drug 
suppliers continue to increase cocaine trafficking.
  My friend from New York correctly points out that this is an 
administration problem. Unfortunately, neither the Clinton 
administration nor Congress are making the war on drugs their top 
priority.
  Stricter sentences and penalties must be imposed on those caught 
trafficking, dealing, or using narcotics. We need to work together with 
other governments to establish these tough penalties at home and 
abroad.
  We must be firm and resolute in our opposition to drug use. In this 
regard, I am pleased to have worked with Mr. Gilman in requiring drug 
testing for certain Government employees who are involved in safety 
related or national security positions.
  I am inserting the full text of Representative Gilman's remarks on 
the international efforts to combat narcotics trafficking.

                               NARCOTICS

       I had the opportunity last year of meeting with Ms. Heinke 
     Salish in Washington to exchange views on the narcotics-
     related work of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil 
     Liberties and Internal Affairs. I want to congratulate my 
     European colleagues for increasing the visibility of the 
     narcotics issue within the European Parliament with this 
     important effort.
       In the U.S., the new Clinton Administration struggled last 
     year with developing its own anti-drug policy. We, on our 
     side of the Atlantic, lost ground to the drug traffickers. 
     The Administration's indecision and the change in emphasis 
     away from interdiction and eradication to primarily treatment 
     of the hard core user, has set us back in the battle against 
     the traffickers.
       In the Congress, as well, we lost further ground in 1993 
     with the elimination of the House Select Committee on 
     Narcotics for cost saving reasons, not lack of interest, I 
     might add. Ironically, I have long urged that the European 
     Parliament establish its own special Narcotics Committee as 
     you have, sadly only to see the U.S. Congress eliminate its 
     own select committee.
       Despite these changes, for the drug traffickers, it has 
     been business as usual. Heroin use is once again on the rise 
     in our country. Opium production and heroin trade from 
     Southeast Asia, especially Burma, is higher than we can ever 
     recall, and shows no sign of abating. Even with Drug Kingpin 
     Pablo Escobar's death in Colombia, the cocaine traffic will 
     continue, carried on by the more sophisticated Cali cartel.
       However, let us not overlook the fact that Escobar's death 
     was an important victory for legitimate governments over 
     those who would rule by violence and intimidation to promote 
     the illicit drug trade. It is a trade that soon infects an 
     entire society, including its government systems, and all 
     other institutions of stability that we know. We must protect 
     our societies from the traffickers, if freedom is to survive.
       Escobar's death is reflective of the violent nature of the 
     narcotics trade. Those who live by the sword die by the 
     sword. Hopefully, from his violent death, the youth of the 
     world will learn that the glamour and attraction that the 
     drug trade may hold can also lead to a violent end. The 
     Colombian government is to be complimented for its courageous 
     and dogged pursuit of this international outlaw.
       Throughout the world today there is a growing awareness 
     that illicit drugs are a major international problem. It is 
     no longer just an American problem, as we heard from too many 
     just a few years ago. Narcotics producers, traffickers and 
     consumers are not limited by any geographic, political, 
     ethnic or ideological boundaries. Traffickers produce and 
     sell to anyone, and consumers can be found in every 
     society and at every socioeconomic level.
       Europe has long been a consumer market and a transit point 
     for Asian heroin. It has also become an increasingly 
     attractive market for Latin America's cocaine cartels. The 
     U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates that 55 
     percent of the cocaine destined for Europe transits through 
     the Iberian Peninsula. The Cali Cartel, stronger than ever 
     with Escobar's demise, is the major source of European 
     cocaine.
       Europe has also grown as a money laundering location, and 
     seen the development of new and menacing criminal 
     organizations, especially in some of the states of the former 
     Soviet Union. Joint U.S.-European-Latin law enforcement 
     efforts have disrupted money laundering operations in Italy, 
     Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium to mention only a 
     few.
       According to both the U.S. State Department and our General 
     Accounting Office, European commitment to international 
     counternarcotics controls is growing. There is also growing 
     cooperation among our law enforcement communities. All of 
     these positive steps we must continue to support to be 
     effective against the scourge of illicit narcotics.
       As these important cooperative strides continue, permit me 
     to share with you some insights I have gained in over twenty 
     years of action and legislative involvement in 
     counternarcotics efforts.
       In fighting illicit narcotics, no one government action or 
     program by itself is sufficient. There must be a combination 
     of programs to address both the supply and demand aspects of 
     this epidemic. The narcotics problem cannot be overcome by 
     concentrating all one's resources on the demand side of 
     treatment, education and rehabilitation efforts alone.
       Any successful drug war must truly be comprehensive and 
     fought simultaneously on many fronts. It must contain 
     components that support eradication and alternative 
     development for producing countries, effective, interdiction 
     and enforcement programs, along with education, treatment and 
     rehabilitation efforts at home. Any emphasis of one to the 
     detriment of the other, simply doesn't work.
       Over the last few years, the United States has gained 
     invaluable experience in fighting narcotics production, 
     distribution, and use. Together, we should build on these 
     experiences and increase cooperation with all our allies 
     around the globe to defeat this plague.
       We stand ready to further those cooperative and productive 
     relationships that can benefit all of our people, and 
     generations to come, in defeating the scourge of drugs.

                          ____________________