[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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