[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 70 (Friday, May 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E980]]
          INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 13, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1555) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 for 
     intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the 
     United States Government, the Community Management Account, 
     and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability 
     System, and for other purposes,

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I rise to strike the last word. 
I rise in support of the gentlewoman of California's amendment to H.R. 
1555. This Amendment prohibits the CIA and other intelligence agencies 
from participating in the manufacture, purchase, sale, transport, or 
distribution of illegal drugs. Let us not forget the history of the CIA 
and the suggestion that they have been involved in this behavior in the 
past. We must take action to rid the CIA and other intelligence 
agencies of any suggestion or taint of wrong doing and address the 
primary issue of drugs in America.
  Drugs, in America, take a huge toll year in and year out. They move 
like a thief in the night and steal our children, our fathers, our 
mothers, and destroy families and lives. This problem plays itself out 
every day in my Congressional District. I walk the streets of Chicago's 
Westside and see the devastation and destruction that drugs leave in 
their wake. I see children with no parents and parents who mourn the 
loss of their children, all too soon, and no one can forget a visit to 
Cook County Hospital and seeing the torturous pain of seeing a baby 
born addicted to drugs. With these images burning in my mind, I know we 
must do everything in our power to rectify this situation.
  In the past week, the media has reported the deaths of two 
celebrities from drugs, one of whom was a professional athlete in the 
prime of his life using drugs for the first time. These recent examples 
illustrate the deadly effect these nefarious substances have on people. 
We must understand no one is safe from this problem, this national 
problem.
  My support of this amendment means that we must be clear in our image 
and the messages that we send by stating the manufacture, sale, 
transport, or distribution of illegal drugs is unacceptable at any 
level of the government. All law enforcement and defense must adhere to 
certain simple principles. The CIA and NSA (National Security Agency) 
are no different from the Chicago Police Department or the Illinois 
State Police or the U.S. Marshals. All must understand that the 
trafficking of drugs is not acceptable, we must restore faith and 
confidence in America's enforcement branches, and if intelligence 
agencies engage in such behavior they must understand the consequences 
of this behavior.
  I can think of no better way to restore our confidence in the CIA and 
NSA than by supporting this amendment. It expresses, in clear and 
concise terms, what we, as representatives of the people, believe is 
right. That no intelligence agency shall, under any circumstances, 
engage in any behavior that facilitates the traffic of drugs.

                          ____________________