[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 62 (Wednesday, May 15, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H2480-H2482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3994, AFGHANISTAN FREEDOM SUPPORT 
                              ACT OF 2002

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, 
I call up House Resolution 419 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 419

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 3994) to authorize economic and democratic 
     development assistance for Afghanistan and to authorize 
     military assistance for Afghanistan and certain other foreign 
     countries. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed 
     with. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall 
     not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the 
     chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     International Relations. After general debate the bill shall 
     be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. It 
     shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the 
     purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment 
     in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
     International Relations now printed in the bill. The 
     committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be 
     considered by title rather than by section. Each title shall 
     be considered as read. During consideration of the bill for 
     amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may 
     accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the 
     Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in 
     the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that 
     purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed 
     shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as 
     may have been adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote 
     in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the 
     Whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature 
     of a substitute. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with 
     or without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) 
is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), 
pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During 
consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose 
of debate only.
  (Mr. DIAZ-BALART asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 419 is an open rule 
providing for the consideration of H.R. 3994, the Afghanistan Freedom 
Support Act. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate, evenly divided 
and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on International Relations. It is a fair rule and allows 
ample opportunity for all Members to present their views on this very 
important underlying legislation.
  Since the beginning of the war on terror in Afghanistan, the Bush 
administration has made a continuous point that this is not a war 
against the people of Afghanistan. It is in reality quite the opposite. 
The Commander in Chief has worked to include the people of Afghanistan 
in our efforts to rid their country of terrorist networks and he has 
met this challenge with extraordinary success.
  Now that the roots of freedom are in place, we should work to ensure 
that the people of Afghanistan and the interim government have 
resources to ensure that Afghanistan remains a full member of the 
democratic community.
  The passage of the Afghanistan Freedom Promotion Act reiterates our 
commitment to peace and stability in the region. It authorizes over $1 
billion over the next 4 years for development, economic, and security 
assistance for Afghanistan. It also provides President Bush with needed 
flexibility in allocating assistance to take into account the fluid 
situation in Afghanistan and the corresponding needs there.
  It is important, however, that we realize that this is not a blank 
check, this legislation, without verification. It conditions 
reconstruction and development assistance on the Afghan government, 
providing full support for counternarcotics efforts and implementing 
the commitments to peace and pluralism that were made in Germany last 
December.
  The bill also earmarks $15 million annually to support the UN Drug 
Control Program activities in Afghanistan and $10 million annually for 
supporting a traditional Afghan assembly. The underlying legislation 
also provides assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs such as food 
aid and disaster relief and emphasizes the need to assist refugees in 
returning to their communities when it is safe to do so.
  This is a good bipartisan bill, Mr. Speaker. It preserves the 
successes that have been achieved in Afghanistan. The legislation 
provides for the national security of the United States as well as 
other friends and allies by helping the effort to eliminate Afghanistan 
as a source of terrorism and instability in the region.
  I urge my colleagues to support both this rule and the underlying 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first let me thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-
Balart), my good friend and neighbor, for yielding me this time.
  The rule itself is fair enough in that it is an open rule. I would 
also like to at this time thank the distinguished chairman and ranking 
member of the House Committee on International Relations, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos), for their extraordinary work on this legislation.
  As a former 9-year member of the Committee on International 
Relations, I well know how hard that committee works to bring sensible 
legislation to the House floor that is sound public policy for the 
United States and equally sound globally. So again, I want to recognize 
the hard work of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).

                              {time}  1045

  Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today, the Afghanistan Freedom 
Support Act, is a good bill as far as it goes. I appreciate my good 
friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), for saying that 
the circumstances in Afghanistan are fluid, and that is without 
question my opinion; and I would echo his sentiments in that regard.
  This bill also authorizes a broad range of development, economic and 
security assistance for Afghanistan including more than $1 billion in 
various assistance activities over 4 years, and urges the President to 
appoint a special coordinator to oversee overall U.S. assistance. And I 
think that that area should be underscored.
  The bill also conditions assistance in certain regions to counter 
narcotics efforts and links future assistance to the furtherance of the 
``Bonn process'' which provides a frame work for Afghanistan's 
political factions to decide their country's political future.
  I read a summary of the bill last night, Mr. Speaker, which notes 
that this bill, and I quote, ``includes strong language on the 
provision of assistance to meet the educational, health, vocational 
needs of women, endorses the needs for increased security throughout 
Afghanistan,'' housing, infrastructure.
  Candidly speaking, I wish we had the money to do all the same things 
in my district and the rest of this country, Mr. Speaker. 
Unfortunately, I have read the Republican welfare bill, and I fear the 
House today may very well be doing good for Afghans, as rightly we 
should, and more for them than we are for some Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I only half jokingly refer to this bill as ``welfare for 
warlords.'' The cold facts tell me that sending this amount of money to 
a region that is still war-torn and rife with organized crime may be a 
dangerous thing to do. Peacekeepers in that region for a substantial 
period of time are going to be a must. Accountability is absolutely 
essential.
  I am, however, very encouraged; and I spoke actively during the runup 
of

[[Page H2481]]

this bill with the gentleman from California's (Mr. Lantos) office and 
allows that the bill includes language to try and stem the serious 
narco-trafficking that is rampant in Afghanistan. What we see on a day-
to-day basis now that spring has sprung in Afghanistan is more and more 
poppy seeds, less and less tomatoes and potatoes; and what we are 
witnessing is right in the area that we are getting ready to send a lot 
of money are drugs being drawn up and grown up that will ultimately 
arrive at our shores and elsewhere in the world.
  I have seen a couple of these crop replacement programs, one in 
Chiang Mai, Thailand. I do not think it worked there. I do not think it 
worked in Bolivia when we tried that; and I do not think it is going to 
work in Afghanistan, for the practical reason that growing tomatoes and 
potatoes is not as lucrative as growing poppy. And until such time as 
we understand that dynamic, we are going to find ourselves on the short 
end of yet another war on drugs while we are trying to stop a war on 
terror in an area where drugs are being grown as we prepare to send 
money there.
  Mr. Speaker, as I said, the bill is good as far as it goes and is a 
good start. And I think the authors have done all that they could under 
the circumstances. I hope some of the concerns I just mentioned can be 
addressed sooner rather than later. Ultimately, this bill deserves our 
support. I only wish that they would deal with many of the same 
problems domestically in the manner that we do this and that our 
domestic matters would enjoy the same bipartisan support.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to my friend, the distinguished 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in 
permitting me to speak on this rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I am eager for this Chamber to deal with the subject at 
hand with the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act. We are leading an effort 
as a country in a global struggle against terrorism, and this 
legislation can be critical for that effort. We all know that the world 
changed since the September 11 attacks, and a number of those changes 
actually have been positive. I am pleased that the United States is 
more engaged in the Middle East, working to try and stop the violence 
in Israel. We have toppled a brutal, repressive regime in Afghanistan. 
And now we are finding that the term ``nation building'' which some 
were dismissive of during the last presidential campaign, is no longer 
a term of derision. It is something that people understand the United 
States has a responsibility in which to be engaged.
  I am thankful that we are turning our attention to the struggle for 
the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of people, particularly in 
this troubled region, people who do not get the full story about the 
role that the United States plays and wants to play in the future. 
There are some who obviously have their grievances against us, but 
there are millions more who are born to poverty and despair. Now more 
than ever before the United States needs to have the full range of 
tools available to deal with these multiple challenges. Part of it is 
military, and we have approved one of the most generous bills in the 
history of this country to give tools to our Armed Forces who have 
already proven that they are the finest in the world.
  We have in the person of Secretary Powell somebody leading the 
diplomatic efforts and I think someone who commands the respect and 
confidence of Congress and the American people. We need to craft an aid 
package that will help us build up and repair.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the concerns I have with this piece of 
legislation is that while it speaks to issues, for example, of 
reconstructing the damaged infrastructure in the countryside, in 
agriculture, while it speaks to the buildup of commerce, it does not 
speak to the reconstruction of the cities in Afghanistan damaged beyond 
repair in some requests unless we step forward. And it is silent, I am 
afraid, to the hundreds of innocent victims, innocent villagers in 
Afghanistan who were mistakenly attacked, killed, injured children who 
were traumatized. I am afraid, Mr. Speaker, that these innocent 
citizens in Afghanistan are every bit as innocent victims like we lost 
in the World Trade Center and here in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
  I have been visited by people who lost loved ones in this country who 
urge Congress to reach out to the innocent victims in Afghanistan. And 
I am hopeful, Mr. Speaker, that this House will use the flexibility 
under the rule to make adjustments to this bill to make sure that we 
are rebuilding the damaged cities in Afghanistan and that we have the 
flexibility to reach out, to aid the innocent victims of our activities 
in that country. There will be no more powerful signal to people around 
the world about how the United States is different, how we are trying 
to live our values than if we reach out to help these innocent people.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my good friend, 
the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), a genuine expert not only on 
foreign affairs but especially the war on narco-trafficking.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Florida for his 
standing in defense of freedom constantly around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule, and I rise in support of 
this important and time-sensitive legislation.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and 
Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform and one of the 
Chairs of the Speaker's Task Force on a Drug Free America, I would like 
to commend the Committee on International Relations for its excellent 
work on this bill in expediting authorization for counternarcotics 
assistance to the interim Afghan government. I want to take time in 
this debate to emphasize the potentially critical nature of the next 
few months in Afghanistan with respect to drug control.
  Historically, Afghanistan has been the main worldwide source for 
elicit opium and heroin production worldwide, accounting for as much as 
70 percent of the total worldwide crop. But the historical political 
instability of the region has long prevented meaningful efforts at 
control and crop eradication.
  As John Walters, the director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, recently commented, now is the first opportunity in recent 
history to influence the worldwide opium problem by working with our 
allies to eradicate and disrupt this trade. The bill expressly 
recognizes that counternarcotics efforts such as poppy eradication and 
the disruption of heroin production must be a high priority of U.S. 
assistance to Afghanistan, as well as the importantly, equally vigorous 
assistance and contributions from the European Union for the same 
purpose. The vast majority of the opium and heroin produced in 
Afghanistan has been historically consumed in Europe rather than the 
United States, so it is critical that our European allies take a 
leadership role and meaningfully support this effort, as well as have 
the governments of the United Kingdom and Germany.
  There can be little doubt, however, that Afghan heroin also threatens 
the United States and that a meaningful blow to such a large source of 
worldwide opium will undoubtedly reduce availability around the world. 
The UNDCP, which has been heavily involved in drug control efforts in 
Afghanistan, estimated at an interparliamentary drug conference in 
Tokyo last month that as many as 2,700 metric tons of new opium could 
be produced in Afghanistan this year if the crop is left unchecked. 
Enough to fill the annual demand for European markets nearly three 
times over.
  Although Chairman Karzai clearly seeks to ban production and control 
of the narcotics trade, as he assured me personally several times, this 
simply cannot do it without the assistance provided in this bill. We 
must decisively take advantage of a potentially historic opportunity to 
stem the flow of heroin around the world.
  As our subcommittee; President Bush; Director Walters; and our former 
colleague and now DEA administrator, Asa Hutchinson, have so vocally 
recognized, the bill also recognizes the critical link of drug profits 
to international terrorism.
  The Taliban received as much as $40 million annually in profits 
derived from the Afghan opium crop which the United Nations concluded 
had gone directly to financing of terrorist organizations. In addition 
to its importance

[[Page H2482]]

for narcotics control, we must also eliminate Afghan poppy for the 
simple reason that it otherwise would continue to have the potential to 
serve as a ready source for a huge flow of illicit drugs to any 
terrorist or insurgent groups that might be able to take power in 
Afghanistan in the future.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to address two important 
issues raised by this bill with respect to overall U.S. drug control 
efforts in Afghanistan. First, the bill today contains a provision 
encouraging the President to appoint an executive branch coordinator 
for all American assistance to Afghanistan, including counternarcotics 
assistance. As this provision is nonbinding and relatively narrow in 
scope, I will not object to it. As chairman of the authorizing 
committee for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, however, I 
want to express my view that this provision does not affect the 
otherwise existing legal authorities and prerogatives of ONDCP with 
respect to all government narcotics drug control programs. I also 
expect that any such coordinator appointed for Afghanistan would 
coordinate counternarcotics assistance through and in consultation with 
ONDCP and its Office of Supply Reduction.
  Second, I would like to express on the record my concern with recent 
media reports that the U.S. Central Command had refused to participate 
in efforts to eradicate opium poppy in Afghanistan. As I mentioned 
earlier, opium eradication is key not only to global drug control but 
also to cutting off sources of economic support to potential military 
opponents. The military interest in cooperating with this mission 
should be clear as a matter of both law and policy when it can be 
accomplished without risking American troops, as the Committee on Armed 
Services recognized last week in its report for next year's 
authorization bill. I strongly support the committee's position and 
will continue to closely monitor the extent and nature of Central 
Command and the Department of Defense participation in these essential 
national missions.
  Mr. Speaker, I emphasize again that we are potentially at a 
crossroads with respect to worldwide heroin trade. I look forward to 
discussing the DEA's new global heroin strategy in the near future in 
our subcommittee and reviewing the overall world situation with respect 
to Colombia and other source countries. For now, however, I strongly 
encourage my colleagues to support this important and potentially 
historic bill.

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our 
time.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, 
and I move the previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question are postponed.

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