[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S2720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page S2720]]



                          AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED

                                 ______
                                 

                 MEXICO CERTIFICATION JOINT RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                COVERDELL (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 25

  Mr. COVERDELL (Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Helms, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. McCain, 
Mr. Domenici, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Moseley-Braun, and Ms. Landrieu) 
proposed an amendment to the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 58) 
disapproving the certification of the President under section 490(b) of 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 regarding foreign assistance for 
Mexico during fiscal year 1997; as follows:

       Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. REPORT REQUIREMENT.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The abuse of illicit drugs in the United States results 
     in 14,000 deaths per year, has inordinate social consequences 
     for the United States, and exacts economic costs in excess of 
     $67,000,000,000 per year to the American people.
       (2) An estimated 12,800,000 Americans, representing all 
     ethnic and socioeconomic groups, use illegal drugs, including 
     1,500,000 users of cocaine. Further, 10.9 percent of 
     Americans between 12 and 17 years of age use illegal drugs, 
     and one in American four children claim to have been offered 
     illegal drugs in the past year. Americans spend approximately 
     $49,000,000,000 per year on illegal drugs.
       (3) There is a need to continue and intensify anti-drug 
     education efforts in the United States, particularly 
     education directed at the young.
       (4) Significant quantities of heroin, methamphetamines, and 
     marijuana used in the United States are produced in Mexico, 
     and a major portion of the cocaine used in the United States 
     is imported into the United States through Mexico.
       (5) These drugs are moved illegally across the border 
     between Mexico and the United States by major criminal 
     organizations, which operate on both sides of that border and 
     maintain the illegal flow of drugs into Mexico and the United 
     States.
       (6) There is evidence of significant corruption affecting 
     institutions of the Government of Mexico (including the 
     police and military), including the arrest in February 1997 
     of General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, the head of the drug law 
     enforcement agency of Mexico, for accepting bribes from 
     senior leaders of the Mexican drug cartels. In 1996, the 
     Attorney General of Mexico dismissed more than 1,200 Mexico 
     federal law enforcement officers in an effort to eliminate 
     corruption, although some were rehired and none has been 
     successfully prosecuted for corruption. In the United States, 
     some law enforcement officials may also be affected by 
     corruption.
       (7) The success of efforts to control illicit drug 
     trafficking depends on improved coordination and cooperation 
     between Mexico and United States drug law enforcement 
     agencies and other institutions responsible for activities 
     against illicit production, traffic and abuse of drugs, 
     particularly in the common border region.
       (8) The Government of Mexico recognizes that it must 
     further develop the institutional financial regulatory and 
     enforcement capabilities necessary to prevent money 
     laundering in the banking and financial sectors of Mexico and 
     has sought United States assistance in these areas.
       (9) The Government of Mexico has recently approved, but has 
     yet to implement fully, new and more effective legislation 
     against organized crime and money laundering.
       (10) The Government of the United States and the Government 
     of Mexico are engaged in bilateral consideration of the 
     problems of illicit drug production, trafficking, and abuse 
     through the High Level Contact Group on Drug Control 
     established in 1996.
       (11) The President of Mexico has declared that drug 
     trafficking is the number one threat to the national security 
     of Mexico.
       (12) In December 1996, the Government of the United States 
     and the Government of Mexico joined with the governments of 
     other countries in the Western Hemisphere to seek to 
     eliminate all production, trafficking, and abuse of drugs and 
     to prevent money laundering.
       (13) Section 101 of division C of the Omnibus Consolidated 
     Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-208) requires the 
     Attorney General to increase the number of positions for 
     full-time, active-duty patrol agents within the Immigration 
     and Naturalization Service by 1,000 per year through the year 
     2001.
       (14) The proposed budget of the President for fiscal year 
     1998 includes a request for 500 such agents.
       (15) Drug cartels continue to operate with impunity in 
     Mexico, and effective action needs to be taken against 
     Mexican drug trafficking organizations, particularly the 
     Juarez and Tijuana cartels.
       (16) While Mexico has begun to extradite its citizens for 
     the first time and has cooperated by expelling or deporting 
     major international drug criminals, United States requests 
     for extradition of Mexican nationals indicted in United 
     States courts on drug-related charges have not been granted 
     by the Government of Mexico.
       (17) Cocaine seizures and arrests of drug traffickers in 
     Mexico have dropped since 1992.
       (18) United States law enforcement agents operating in 
     Mexico along the United States border with Mexico must be 
     allowed adequate protection.
       (b) Sense of Congress on Cooperation on Drugs by Countries 
     in the Western Hemisphere.--It is the sense of Congress to 
     urge the President, in his official visits in the Western 
     Hemisphere, to examine with leaders of governments of other 
     countries in the Western Hemisphere the effectiveness of 
     efforts to improve counterdrug activities in order to curtail 
     the production, traffic, and abuse of illicit drugs, and to 
     define plans for specific actions to improve cooperation on 
     such activities, including consideration of a coordinated 
     multilateral alliance.
       (c) Sense of Congress of Progress in Halting Production and 
     Traffic of Drugs in Mexico.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     there has been ineffective and insufficient progress in 
     halting the production in and transit through Mexico of 
     illegal drugs.
       (d) Report to Congress.--Not later than September 1, 1997, 
     the President shall submit to Congress a report describing 
     the following:
       (1) The extent of any significant and demonstrable progress 
     made by the Government of the United States and the 
     Government of Mexico, respectively, during the period 
     beginning on March 1, 1997, and ending on the date of the 
     report in achieving the following objectives relating to 
     counterdrug cooperation:
       (A) The investigation and dismantlement of the principal 
     organizations responsible for drug trafficking and related 
     crimes in both Mexico and the United States, including the 
     prevention and elimination of their activities, the 
     prosecution or extradition and incarceration of their 
     leaders, and the seizure of their assets.
       (B) The development and strengthening of permanent working 
     relationships between the United States and Mexico law 
     enforcement agencies, with particular reference to law 
     enforcement directed against drug trafficking and related 
     crimes, including full funding and deployment of the 
     Binational Border Task Forces as agreed upon by both 
     governments.
       (C) The strengthening of bilateral border enforcement, 
     including more effective screening for and seizure of 
     contraband.
       (D) The denial of safe havens to persons and organizations 
     responsible for drug trafficking and related crimes and the 
     improvement of cooperation on extradition matters between 
     both countries.
       (E) The simplification of evidentiary requirements for 
     narcotics crimes and related crimes and for violence against 
     law enforcement officers.
       (F) The full implementation of effective laws and 
     regulations for banks and other financial institutions to 
     combat money laundering, including the enforcement of 
     penalties for non-compliance by such institutions, and the 
     prosecution of money launderers and seizure of their assets.
       (G) The eradication of crops destined for illicit drug use 
     in Mexico and in the United States in order to minimize and 
     eventually eliminate the production of such crops.
       (H) The establishment and implementation of a comprehensive 
     screening process to assess the suitability and financial and 
     criminal background of all law enforcement and other 
     officials involved in the fight against organized crime, 
     including narcotics trafficking.
       (I) The rendering of support to Mexico in its efforts to 
     identify, remove, and prosecute corrupt officials at all 
     levels of government, including law enforcement and military 
     officials.
       (J) The augmentation and strengthening of bilateral 
     cooperation.
       (2) The extent of any significant and demonstrable progress 
     made by the Government of the United States during the period 
     beginning on March 1, 1997, and ending on the date of the 
     report in--
       (A) implementing a comprehensive anti-drug education effort 
     in the United States targeted at reversing the rise in drug 
     use by America's youth;
       (B) implementing a comprehensive international drug 
     interdiction and enforcement strategy; and
       (C) deploying 1,000 additional active-duty, full-time 
     patrol agents within the Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service in fiscal year 1997 as required by section 101 of 
     division C of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
     1997 (Public Law 104-208).

                          ____________________