[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 34 (Thursday, March 23, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PASS THE COLOMBIAN AID PACKAGE

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, each week that we delay the passage of 
the Colombia aid package costs America the lives of 1,000 of its 
children. That means every day we sit here and do nothing about the 
drug trade from Colombia, 143 of our young people will die from drug-
related causes. In the time it takes us to debate and vote on the aid 
package, 12 children will succumb to drug addiction.
  In 1998, 5 million young people in this country required treatment 
for drug addiction, and nearly 600,000 required an emergency room 
visit. In the United States, there are 1.6 million drug-related arrests 
annually, and over half of our prison population has committed drug 
related crimes. Even more disturbing, while the average age of 
marijuana users is increasing, heroin abusers are getting younger.
  Seventy-five percent of all the heroin entering this country comes 
from Colombia. Delaying this aid package will only bring in more.
  Mr. Speaker, we have worked hard to stop the genocide in other 
countries. We now have the duty to stop the senseless slaughter of a 
generation of young Americans. If we love our children as much as we 
claim, then we must pass the Colombia aid package, and soon.

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