Mark Souder

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. I accepted an amendment that in my opinion was already covered by the bill under the establishment clause, but this clarified that. Obviously the gentleman's concern is the guts of my bill, which would allow faith-based organizations to apply for government grants without giving up the faith part of their organization.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, if the gentleman will yield further, I do not believe this is relevant to the particular objection. I think he has raised a separate issue.

Mr. SOUDER. He is not discussing the particular item under the objection, Madam Chairman.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, I will not use the full time. I merely want to reiterate that for all the hullaballoo here, this is the same language we had in the juvenile justice bill that passed 346 to 83 with the same language; the same in the Fathers Count, in the welfare bill, the human services bill. It is what is in the Even Start bill. It is supported by the current administration, by the previous HUD Secretaries before this. It is supported by African-American, Hispanic, Orthodox Jewish, Catholic, Protestant organizations all over the country that are trying to deal with the terrible problems of homelessness, of inadequate housing for the poor. Without extending Federal dollars, it is going to be very difficult. Quite frankly, faith-based organizations are not willing to give up their faith in order to become part of a charitable system. They will just choose not to participate, as they did for years prior to the current Secretary of HUD and other Secretaries reaching out to them. So I think this merely codfies what is already being done. We have done it in other bills. Quite frankly, it is going to be coming in more bills, because it is one of the most important things we can do to extend Federal dollars and involve people whose hearts say they want to help those who are hurting, and this enables them to do so.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, it is unlikely under President Bush that the witches would get funding.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, if the gentleman will continue to yield, nonprofit organizations are already covered under the Tax Code, because under religious freedom in the United States, one is allowed to exercise freedom of religion. What this does would leave the discretion to the Department of HUD, as they do currently, to give grants to faith-based organizations, including African American church units which currently get the funding in the inter-faith initiative under Secretary Cuomo.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, they can get it now under the Democratic administration.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, if the gentleman will continue to yield, if Secretary Cuomo or the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development chose to give it to a place that would discriminate on that basis, which could include Jewish, Catholic, evangelical, then that could happen.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chair, an orthodox Jewish synagogue could also do that. The gentleman is trying to demagogue the question.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, the gentleman is aware, as we debated a number of times, that there are multiple rulings if it is used to teach primarily sectarian doctrine. In other words, if you teach religious doctrine, the courts clearly ruled. However, if one is pervasively sectarian, but not teaching religious views, the court has ruled in other cases. That is why we said consistent with the establishment clause, because it could be challenged. The fact is, HUD currently gives and has given hundreds of these grants around the country to pervasively sectarian organizations.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, working with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio), the chairman of the subcommittee, I would be happy to consider that.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, we had this debate in the Even Start debate in the Committee on Education and the Workforce. My understanding of this, and there are only a couple of exceptions which we could get into if we wanted to, but in this grant, there would not be an exception, and that is that one cannot discriminate on who one covers, nor can one force them to participate in a religious activity. This would allow a Catholic priest to have his collar on if it is at a Catholic facility. It would not require them to remove icons, and it would not require them to hire people who do not share their faith. But if one is in the neighborhood and one is not a Catholic, they cannot require one to go to a biblical study, to show up at church, because there cannot be discrimination against applicants.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Chairman, I yield myself 4 minutes. First I want to again thank the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio) for his leadership in the housing bill. Once again he is reaching out to those who are hurting in this country trying to expand the base in a creative market-based way, and he has been a tremendous leader in the housing issue. Madam Chairman, I rise today to offer this amendment to codify what HUD is already doing, encouraging faith-based organizations to have a place at the table in receiving Federal funds to provide social services. This amendment will simply codify the practice that religious organizations can compete on the same basis as other grantees for HUD grants. In reality, charitable choice started in HUD under Jack Kemp, and that is really where the first charitable choice efforts came because many people simply did not care enough to work with the homeless. We both at the Federal level and the State level were not providing enough funds for the homeless. Without the charitable-based groups, many of these people would not have had a place to stay. Thus, we started charitable choice really inside HUD. It has enjoyed bipartisan support from this branch. The House has endorsed charitable choice on five different occasions as a means of making social programs more effective. I offered an amendment to give faith-based organizations a role in anti-crime efforts in the Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act in 1999. The House passed that amendment 346-83. The Fathers Count Act included a charitable choice provision to allow faith-based organizations to apply for grants through the fatherhood program. An amendment on the House floor that would have removed the charitable choice language failed by a vote of 184-238. A form of charitable choice was also included in the Welfare and Medicaid Reform Act of 1996 and the Human Services Authorization Act of 1998, both of which have been signed into law. Finally, the charitable choice language was most recently included in the Even Start literacy program passed by the Committee on Education and the Workforce. It is also noteworthy that the likely nominees of both presidential parties support charitable choice. Governor George W. Bush has been a leader in the effort to include religious groups in social programs as governor of Texas. Vice President Gore has endorsed this practice in speeches and on his Web site. In fact, the two candidates have been competing to see who is most for charitable choice and arguing over who is the most pro-charitable choice. Charitable choice makes it clear that religious organizations receiving Federal funds to provide services may not discriminate against those who would receive those services. It makes it clear that they will not be forced to change their identity or the characteristics which make them unique and effective. These protections include their religious character, independence and employment practices. The goal here is to allow faith-based organizations to compete without handicapping them by eliminating the characteristics which make them effective in improving lives and restoring communities. I also want to make it clear that it is supported by the current Secretary of HUD as it was by Secretary Kemp and as it was by Secretary Cisneros who was a leader when he was mayor of San Antonio in involving faith-based organizations. On HUD's current home site, they talk about the importance of community and faith-based organizations. In 1997, HUD Secretary Cuomo initiated a new Center for Community and Interfaith Partnerships directed by Father Joseph Hacala. In this year's budget, HUD has requested $20 million for the interfaith housing initiative. Between the fall of 1999 and the summer of 2000, HUD's Center for Community and Interfaith Partnerships will host 10 regional conferences, quote, targeted to the needs of community and faith-based organizations which Secretary Cuomo has recognized are, quote, the voice of conscience in the struggle for economic rights. In reference to those conferences, Secretary Cuomo stated: ``Our challenge is to engage partners in a new way to spurt the critical housing and community development efforts of community and faith-based organizations. Government cannot do this alone. Community and faith-based organizations cannot do this alone. But together, by combining our strategies, resources and commitment, we can build communities into law.'' Finally, charitable choice is something that is already being done. We need to codify it here. I commend Vice President Gore, Governor Bush, Secretary Cuomo and the previous housing secretaries before him to realize we cannot solve the housing problems in this country without charitable organizations.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. I really appreciate the passion of my friend from California. Even when he is incomplete in his arguments, he certainly is moving. There is no question that we have to have a multifront war. It is a war and a cancer. I would have voted for a treatment amendment had that amendment been allowed. I am a cosponsor of the gentleman from Minnesota's bill to cover drug treatment. I am working in the Committee on Education and the Work Force on prevention programs. But let us not overstate the data on treatment and prevention programs, either. The data is mixed. The Rand study itself is mixed, 88 percent recidivism. People get partially better, but treatment is a struggle. Drug courts are a struggle. Prevention programs are a struggle. We should be treating, and we have a massive problem in this country as we have locked up more kids and adults in our prisons and do not focus on making sure they get educated and they get in treatment programs. We absolutely have to deal with that. But the plain truth of the matter is our local police department, our local schools, our local treatment centers cannot handle the amount of new people coming in to drug addiction if we do not get it at the source and at the border as well. We have to have a comprehensive program. What we are dealing with today is a Colombian amendment. The reason we have not put in all these dollars into Colombia over the years is because we had a legitimate human rights objection to how their military was being handled and because drug money had gotten into the previous government of Colombia. We have been putting roughly $300 million into just the Colombian National Police and not into the rest of Colombia while we were putting $3.2 billion into treatment. We are behind in Colombia. Where we were putting the effort in Peru and Bolivia, we have had progress. The facts are real simple. In 1992, which may just be a happenstance date, 1992, 1993, two things happened in this country. One, we relaxed our attitudes on Just Say No but the other thing is we cut our interdiction budgets. We had made progress steadily on drug abuse, on addiction, on treatment, on prevention. But when the drugs soared into this country, the prices on the street dropped again. We saw a direct correlation between price, demand, purity, and usage. In that period when we cut back, to get back to 1993 where we were, would take a 50 percent reduction right now. Interdiction is only part of this effort. But we have to work at the source. Let us go to some of the particulars in Colombia. First off, what is the clear, compelling national interest in Colombia versus other parts? We put $8 billion into Kosovo, and we did not have a clear compelling national interest. In Colombia, it is the longest standing democracy under siege, under siege not because there is a civil war, only 4 percent of the people support the FARC, there are that many drug dealers in our home States. It is under siege because of money from this country fomenting a civil war in that country where people are dying. Drugs are the leading cause, drugs and alcohol, of every crime in my hometown and in every town in this country. Every police chief will tell you 70 to 85 percent of all crime, child abuse, domestic violence, everything is drug- and alcohol-related. It is our number one problem in this country. Thirdly, Colombia is our eighth largest supplier of oil. They are going to be a net importer in 3 years as their oil fields have come under pressure. Furthermore it is right now up against the Venezuelan border, our number one supplier of oil. That is another compelling national interest. Furthermore, on top of that, they have moved into the Darien Peninsula in Panama, threatening potentially the Panama Canal, a vital trade link. Compelling national interests means drug crises on our streets; trade, energy, these are compelling national interests in our own hemisphere. In Colombia, it is not Vietnam. Mr. Chairman, 71 percent of the people say they trust most of the Catholic church, 69 percent the Colombian National Police, 68 percent the military, 4 percent the FARC. There is not a division of opinion. We have a stable democracy that even goes through transition of power. We have a national police and a military that is willing to fight. What we have been unwilling to do is give them the weapons and training with which to do that. It is only a part of the drug war, but it is a part. We have patriotic Colombians who are sacrificing their lives because of our abuse, and what they are asking is for us, for the first time since the Leahy rule no longer applies to their military, as they have cleaned house and as this President has relaxed with the new President. President Pastrana has reached out for peace with the FARC and been slapped on one cheek, turned his other cheek, slapped on the other cheek; turned his cheek and was slapped again. What we have are people who are saying, we will fight your drug war, part of it, in our country if you will at least provide some training and some dollars for helicopters, for our soldiers. We will clean up our human rights problems. We will reach out with peace overtures. But what we say is no, we are not going to help you unless you do it in exactly our way all the time. We know we need more money for drug treatment. We know we need more money for prevention. We know we need more money for interdiction at the borders, for our prisons, for education systems. But we also need more for interdiction, because we have not even given a drop compared to other things in the battle in Colombia where our cocaine in every one of our hometowns and States is coming from, where our heroin in every one of our hometowns and where our potent marijuana is coming from. And the least we can do, and I am particularly disappointed in some of my conservative friends who are being penny wise and pound foolish, this problem is not going to go away if we defeat the funding so necessary for this push in southern Colombia. Mr. Chairman, we must take action and defeat the Pelosi amendment.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me today to be here with this bill to name the Federal building and U.S. courthouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana, my hometown, after northeast Indiana's longest serving Congressman, E. Ross Adair. He served 20 years in the district, getting elected the year I was born in 1950, and served until 1970, when he was appointed ambassador to Ethiopia. It is also with great personal satisfaction that I have the honor of doing this, because as a young political activist, when I was still at Leo High School and moving to Indiana Purdue University at Fort Wayne, my first campaign was in Ross Adair's 1968 reelection effort when redistricting had put two Congressmen into the same district. The group that we developed was at that time the second largest youth group ever put together in the country, and as my colleagues can see from this old poster, E. Ross Adair was not necessarily who one would think would attract a lot of young people. In fact, one of my friends, Lauren Smith, did a campaign for Winston Prouty, a Senator in Vermont, and Winston Prouty dressed up in all of these fancy clothes and it said, do we elect Winston Prouty because he is a swinger? You open it up and it says, no, it is because he does a good honest job of representing the people of his district. That is what E. Ross Adair did, and that is why many, 2,000 young people got involved in that youth campaign to elect him and he won a very close and, quite frankly, unexpected victory in 1968. This particular poster, I collect a lot of Indiana memorabilia, and it is in the 1952 campaign when he still had hair. He lost his hair not too many campaigns after that, as politics is prone to do. Let me give my colleagues a little bit of his bio. He was born in Albion, Indiana, a small town northwest of Fort Wayne in 1907 to parents Lue and Alice Adair. His mother and father were both educators. His father was a school superintendent and newspaper editor and his mother a school teacher. That newspaper, by the way, still exists in Albion. Ross's parents emphasized the importance of education and encouraged him to be an avid reader. In fact, the family home contained one room solely dedicated to books, which later became the first lending library in Albion. Albion now has one of the most beautiful small-town libraries in the country. After attending public schools in Noble County, he attended Hillsdale College in Michigan, receiving an AB degree in history in 1928. He was an active member of the debate team, served as fraternity president, was selected to receive a Rhodes Scholarship. But, instead of going abroad, he chose to attend George Washington University School of Law here in Washington from which he received a law degree in 1933. When he was not studying, he actually served as a Capitol Hill police officer, a very honorable profession. In 1934 at age 28, he returned to Indiana to teach history in Noble County before devoting himself full-time to the practice of law in Fort Wayne. In addition to practicing law, he was a lecturer, giving commencement and holiday addresses. His father was proud of his son, describing him as a country boy living a good and clean life in the city. Adair later serving as probate commissioner in Albion County until he volunteered on September 15, 1941, to serve in the Army as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Officers Reserve. As my colleagues have heard, he received multiple medals, five battle stars for Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhine, and the Central European campaigns during World War II. After the war, he returned to Indiana to first serve again as Allen County probate commissioner and the practice of private law and began political networking, starting his political campaign first as GOP city chairman in Fort Wayne and later as a precinct committee man. In 1950 at the age of 43 he announced his candidacy for the Republican 4th District Congressman. The Adair campaign became a family affair, run by the Adair Family Enterprise, Incorporated. The partnership included Ross's wife, Marian; the two Adair children, Carol, age 11, and Stephen, age 7. The children were common fixtures at political events, passing out campaign literature and urging folks to vote for their dad. Marian, who is 92 years old and who is watching us on television today, was a dynamo, not only in that campaign and all the campaigns afterwards, but later in Washington; and she is still quite the organizer even at 92. His granddaughter, Amy Adair Horton, is my legislative director, continuing the Adair tradition here in Washington. His early campaign themes focused on honesty, decency, economy in government, and a definitive foreign policy to not unduly jeopardize American servicemen and that would promote just and lasting peace; and he won that election over incumbent Congressman Ed Kruse. In 1951 he began serving 20 years, and nobody else in our district has ever served more than 10. Ross' first office was in 433 Cannon, then called the ``Old House Building.'' Back then, Members received $12,500 annually and had a total of only three to six staff members. Even in 1968, when I was helping his campaign, he had one part-time staff person, Rosemary Hillis, in the district office and added a full- time staff person in 1969, Al Harvey, for field work. That shows my colleagues how much it has changed. He was elected president of the 82nd Club, which consisted of the 45 Republicans who were elected in 1950. He also wrote to the student newspaper at Indiana Purdue in Fort Wayne in 1953 about his daily professional responsibilities: ``The average Congressman works diligently. We maintain unusual office hours and many times are called upon to attend business or social affairs in the evening. It is not infrequent for us to take material home with us at night to study in preparation for the next day's work. It is a very active and varied life. This is a matter of handling the correspondence and dealing with problems of the people in our district as representatives, in addition to studying legislation and attending meetings of committees. The latter occupies an important place in the life of a Congressman, as legislation is studied and many times redrafted by the committees of the House and Senate.'' In 1959 he sent a postcard: ``When you elect a man to Congress, actually you send a family to represent you. This is my family at our home in Washington. Please let us know if we can be of service in any way, either at home or in Washington.'' Despite being from the Midwest, the home of isolationism, he began building a professional expertise in foreign affairs and began his assignment to the House Committee on Foreign Relations. At the same time, his wife, Marian, was honing her diplomatic skills socially. In 1959 Mrs. Adair organized and founded a program designed to give hospitality and special interest activities to wives of foreign diplomats. Her earlier organization of six international clubs between 1953 and 1957 grew to 170 members who were spouses of Congressmen, diplomats and government and business officials. These clubs were described in Congressional Quarterly as places where ``first names and small talk made for pretty good foreign relations.'' In 1962 he toured Asia, meeting with high-ranking officials in Taiwan, Pakistan, and Turkey to gauge their loyalty to the West and opposition to the Communist menace in Asia. South Vietnam, he thought, was in trouble because Communist infiltration could not be stopped. He was also selected as a delegate to the annual sessions of the Interparliamentary Union in 1959, 1963, 1964, and 1965. During his congressional service, he rose to ranking Republican member on House Veterans by 1966 in the Committee on Foreign Affairs and was also in the Committee on Committees. Some of his legislative victories, including ushering President Nixon's major proposals on pollution control, introducing legislation to provide tax incentives for voluntary efforts to curb pollution, and assisting the city of Fort Wayne in obtaining funds for storm sewers. He also introduced and helped pass the Peace With Justice resolution, a resolution condemning the treatment of American prisoners of war by the North Vietnamese Communists and a bill to implement President Nixon's plan to curb plane hijacking. He also led efforts which he bragged about in every campaign to slash millions of dollars of wasteful foreign-aid spending. He lost his final campaign in 1970, but Senator Hruska paid a final tribute to him by saying, ``Ross Adair made his mark as a Congressman's Congressman, quiet, hard-working and effective. One of the great things about Adair was his ability to conciliate differences and effect agreements between bitter political enemies.'' After his departure from Congress, President Nixon appointed Adair as U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia, a post he held until 1974, just before the Ethiopian revolution erupted, deposing American ally, His Majesty, Haile Selassie. Thereafter, he returned to Indiana, where he continued his practice as a senior partner in the law firm of Adair, Perry, Beers, McAlister, and Mallers. He was also tapped in 1976 by former Governor Otis R. Bowen to serve on the Governor's Privacy Commission, and he also served on an advisory committee for President Ford's re-election campaign. Ros Adair received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Indiana University of Technology in 1964 and from Indiana University in 1982. He was a member of the Southgate Masonic Lodge, Forest Park Methodist Church, Mizpah Temple, and Scottish Rite Cathedral. In 1966, he received the 33rd Degree, the highest honor in Scottish Rite. He died in Fort Wayne in October of 1983. I have also received a few letters from some of his long-time friends I want to read. ``Ross Adair spent most of his adult life in service to his country and its citizens. He was a lawyer, soldier, Representative, ambassador. It seems fitting that a Federal building be named to honor his service and his loyalty.'' That was from Susan Prickett, the wife of his longtime chief of staff. She edited the Albion paper after her husband died, and she passed away just a few months ago. I was hoping she would be able to see us name this building. I am glad we got to put her tribute in the Record. Orvas Beers, his longtime law partner, cousin, and close friend, wrote ``I am writing in support of this legislation to designate the Federal building after E. Ross Adair. I think this is a great idea. ``National recognition of our former congressman and United States Ambassador to Ethiopia is long overdue. He dedicated well over 20 years of his life to public service in both Congress and as ambassador. His accomplishments . . . were outstanding. His integrity and statesmanship are unmatched. Ross was among the finest Congressmen ever to represent Northeast Indiana. As a former law partner of Ross, and former chairman of the Republican party of Allen County, I am proud to have known him and worked for his elections. Ross Adair's word was as good as his name. He meant what he said, and said what he meant. A handshake and his word closed many solid agreements. He served our country during a time when political machines were a big part of how this Nation functioned. Yet, Ross's honesty and integrity were never questioned. He was a fine man. Republicans and Democrats alike were well represented by Ross Adair.'' Ken Meyers writes that E. Ross Adair will finally get the recognition he deserved. He tells a story. He was a Republican County Chairman of Steuben County, a county to the north of Fort Wayne, in 1950. He said, at the time Ross was nominated he was not familiar ``outside Allen and Noble Counties--but not for long. His sincere friendly campaigning won him the nomination and election in November. ``E. Ross Adair represented all the people in the district; Republican, Democrat, or Independent received the same attention and consideration. On important legislative matters he was in constant contact with his constituents. He read and studied the legislation before the House. ``One personal incident proved to me that he did his `homework.' A popular piece of legislation was before the House that would be beneficial to his district. Ross voted against it. As county chairman, I questioned his vote. His reply was, `Ken, a last-minute amendment was attached to it that made it unacceptable.' When he explained what the amendment was and what it would do, I was proud he was our Congressman. ``The election in 1958 was an indication of his popularity in Steuben County. Statewide, the 1958 election was a disaster for Republicans in Indiana. Ross was roughly 1,100 votes behind until little Steuben County's 1,400 plurality sent him back to Washington, where he remained for 12 more years. ``E. Ross Adair's morals and integrity were of the highest. I have often wondered what our country would be like if all 535 Members of Congress and yes, the President, too, had the same level of morals, integrity, and dedication as E. Ross Adair.'' Walter Helmke, a longtime State Senator, father of the immediate past mayor of Fort Wayne and son of the former district chairman and congressional candidate, wrote, ``Congressman Adair served the Fourth Congressional District with high distinction . . . having been elected 10 times to the office of Fourth District Representative. I knew him well during the entire 20-year period that he served. He was always responsive to his constituents, and, I believe, represented the sentiments and beliefs of his constituents to an extraordinary degree. ``During 8 of the 20 years that Ross served as Congressman, I served as Prosecuting Attorney of Allen County, and had occasion to call on him for assistance and information a number of times. He always provided me with assistance and support without hesitation. ``After his distinguished career in the United States Congress, he ably served the United States government as the U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia until the emperor of Ethiopia was deposed.'' The last letter I would like to read is from Marta Gabre-Tsadick. She is the only female senator to have ever served when Haile Selassie was head of Ethiopia. She writes, ``We at Project Mercy,'' a project that continues today based and working out of Fort Wayne to help those impoverished people who need health care and other things in Ethiopia, ``wholeheartedly support this initiative to commemorate a man who not only gave 20 years of his life to serving his country as Congressman, but reached international boundaries as a great Ambassador to Ethiopia. His service there impacted all African countries through his interaction with the Organization of African Unity, headquartered at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We are grateful for his service. ``In retrospect, I can think of no one who has contributed more to this area, or anyone who could possibly deserve this honor more than our mutual friend and mentor, E. Ross Adair.'' When Haile Selassie fell, roughly one-third of the senate in Ethiopia came to Fort Wayne, Indiana, because Ross Adair meant to them America, and where freedom was. I and many others heard the stories of peoples' heads being chopped off and watching their kids die. Ross Adair represented the values, as do so many of our ambassadors, of America abroad, not only here in this Chamber. It is a tremendous honor and distinction for me today to be the United States Congressman from the Fourth District to sponsor this bill to have our Federal building and courthouse named after E. Ross Adair.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, we are about to consider a supplemental appropriations bill here in Congress. One of the things I keep hearing is, is the antinarcotics effort in Colombia going to lead us into another Vietnam. The ridiculous thing is that it shows what happens when we have a President without a clear foreign policy and no clear definition of compelling national interests. We are certainly embroiled in another potential Vietnam. It is Kosovo. If one looks at the front page of the Washington Post today, it says ``Kosovo Attacks Stir U.S. Concern. Official Says NATO May Have to Fight Ethnic Albanians.'' When we were on the ground just before we voted the funds here in the House and Senate to support this effort, visited the camps of the Kosovars in Macedonia and other places, they said, no, we are not going to go back under the Serbs. Of course we are going to fight to take over this. We are going to be independent. There was not a single person who did not believe that they were going to continue their internal civil war. What defines a clear compelling national interest is how it relates to the United States. In this bill, we are putting money back into the military that the President stripped out for Kosovo, but I do not hear complaints about that. But in Colombia, we do have a clear compelling national interest, and it is most certainly not like Vietnam. In Vietnam, we were across the other side of the continent. Here, Colombia is a 2-hour flight from Miami, Florida, and produces 80 percent of the cocaine that comes into the United States, the drugs that are on the streets of Fort Wayne of northeast Indiana and all over this country. Colombia has 40 million people. It is the second largest country in our hemisphere known historically as the area of the Monroe Doctrine, the fifth largest economy, and the oldest democracy in Latin America. This is not a propped up government like we were dealing with at multiple times in Vietnam. This is a democratically-elected government. In fact, the narco-guerillas do not have any popular support unlike the Viet Cong, which we could argue about how much they had. But here is the latest approval ratings in Colombian polls: 73 percent for the Catholic Church, 71 percent for the Colombian National Police, 69 percent for the Colombian military, 9 percent for the terrorist paramilitary, and only 4 percent for the FARC and ELN. They know they do not even have the popular will in any village in their country. They control rural areas by force, but they do not control the major metro areas. The only way they can control the rural areas is by force. Furthermore, in addition to the narcotics that are coming into this country being a compelling national interest. Obviously, Panama used to be part of Colombia. Panama is now vulnerable. It is right up against the areas, and the narco-terrorists have moved into that, threatening trade routes. It is our eighth largest producer of oil in the United States. The government oil pipeline there has been attacked 700 times in the last number of years. They are predicting that they are going to be a net importer in 3 years if we can control the narco-terrorism. Basically, they would not have this drug problem if we and Europe were not consuming the cocaine. This is not a domestic Colombian problem, this is a domestic Colombian democracy problem caused by our consumption and consumption in Europe. They have a national police that is willing to fight. They have a military that is willing to fight. We are not proposing to put American armies on the ground like we have in Kosovo. How in the world can this be compared to Vietnam? Vietnam is over in Europe. But we do not hear people yelling about that. This is a clear compelling national interest on energy prices, on narco-trafficking going into this country, and our kids and families on the streets who are being destroyed by this, and because of trade related to Panama, and because it is the second oldest democracy in South America fighting for its life because of our problems here. We have the obligation to at least assist them with some additional fire power with which to fight the druggies who have been using our dollars to buy weapons to fight the people there who are trying to preserve their democracy. Mr. Speaker, I include the following fact sheet for the Record, as follows: Fact Sheet: The Growing Emergency in Colombia The Crisis: Narco-guerillas, funded by the illicit drug trade, now threaten the oldest democracy in Latin America. The Colombian government has the political will, but not the resources to combat this threat. Failing to provide U.S. ``Supplemental'' aid now will further weaken Colombia's democratic institutions, jeopardize its fragile economy and undermine its ability to negotiate a peace. The World's Drug Supply Line Colombian cocaine production has skyrocketed from 230 metric tons in 1995 to 520 metric tons in 1999 and now accounts for 80% of the world's cocaine supply and 90% of the U.S. cocaine supply. Colombia has replaced Southeast Asia as the number one supplier of U.S. heroin (producing approximately 70% of the heroin seized in the U.S.). Colombian narco-guerillas earn an estimated $600 million from the illegal drug trade each year. The 17,000 member FARC and 6,000 member ELN insurgency groups were declared terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department in 1997 and now control 40% of the Colombian countryside. Increased Human Suffering Since 1990, 35,000 Colombians have been killed by the guerilla insurgency including a presidential candidate, Supreme Court justices and 5,000 policy. At 27,000 homicides per year, Colombia's murder rate is the world's highest (10 times that of the U.S.). Fifteen American citizens are known to have died in Colombia as a result of the drug war and the internal conflict. 35% of all terrorist acts in the world are committed in Colombia (2,663 kidnappings last year alone). In fact, the longest held U.S. hostages are three missionaries from Florida, held by the FARC in Colombia since 1993. Since 1990, the violence from the insurgency has displaced 1.7 million Colombians from their homes (more than in Bosnia, Kosovo or East Timor). Economic Crisis Colombia is facing its worst economic recession in 70 years with 21% unemployment, a black market economy that undermines its tax base, and a lack of consumer and investor confidence. Oil companies in Colombia are facing overwhelming security threats. One government-owned oil pipeline has been attacked 700 times by narco-guerillas (79 times in 1999 alone). These attacks have caused $100 millions in economic losses, and more than 1.7 million gallons of oil have been spilled. Fact Sheet: Why Colombia Matters to the U.S. drugs are killing american kids The U.S. Drug Czar says that illegal drugs account for 52,000 American deaths every year (compared to 58,000 during the entire Vietnam War). One in every two American school kids will try illegal drugs before they graduate from the 12th grade. The cost of illegal drugs to U.S. society is a staggering $110 billion a year. U.S. prison population for drug-related crimes is approaching 2 million and 80% of all U.S. inmates are drug abusers. a significant trading partner Colombia is the 5th largest economy in Latin America and the 5th largest U.S. trading partner in the region. Two-way trade with Colombia totals nearly $11 billion per year and accounts for 80% of the cut flowers and 21% of all coffee imports to the U.S. 20% of daily U.S. oil imports come from Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela (which has surpassed Saudi Arabia as the #1 supplier of crude oil to the U.S.). Colombia produces 820,000 barrels of oil daily and provides 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day to U.S. refineries in Texas and Louisiana. Colombia is the 8th largest supplier of foreign crude oil to the U.S. reducing the U.S. dependence on oil from the OPEC nations of the Middle East. regional stability Narco-guerilla incursions into neighboring countries (e.g., Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and Peru) now threaten the stability of the entire region. The strategically important Panama Canal is only 150 miles north of the Colombian border and is vulnerable to guerilla attacks since the pull-out of all U.S. military troops in accordance with the 1977 U.S./Panama Canal Treaty. 800,000 Colombians have fled their country in the last 4 years--seeking entry into the U.S. at an alarming rate (366,423 visa requests last year compared with only 150,514 in 1997). Colombian political asylum requests have more than quadrupled (396 requests in the last quarter of 1999 compared with 334 in the previous 12 months). Fact Sheet: the Administration's Colombia Aid Proposal $954 million in FY-00 . . . The ``Supplemental'' Request. $150 million already passed in FY-00 Appropriations last fall. $150 million in regular FY-01 budget submission. $318 million ``plus-up'' to FY-01 budget request ($1.6 billion total over two years). [In millions of dollars] Additional Aid Request FY-00 Supplemental/ in six categories FY-01 ``Plus-Up'' 1. Push into Southern Colombia.................................$512/$88 2. Interdiction (Air, Water, Ground)............................238/102 3. Colombian National Police Support..............................68/28 4. Alternative Economic Development...............................92/53 5. Boost Governing Capability.....................................42/46 6. Economic (& Peace Process) Assistance............................3/2

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I read with concern this week that we have had another incident on our southern border in Tijuana with Mexico and their inability to get control of the drug problem. The attorney general of Mexico was quoted, who has been a crusader in trying to establish law and order in Mexico on the drug issue, that one of our primary needs is to get control of consumption in this country. I want to suggest two different things: in addition, Mexico needs to continue to work to control the borders, because in San Diego, I will be at a hearing next week that the gentleman from California (Mr. Mica) is chairing in the district of the gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray). There is only so much they can do in San Diego, across from Tijuana if we do not get some control of our borders. There is also only so much we can do in northeast Indiana, as I have talked with Sheriff Dukes in Noble County and Sheriff Jackson in Huntington County and Sheriff Herman in Allen County. There is only so much they can do in my district if the drugs keep coming across in California and Arizona and New Mexico and Texas that pour then into Indiana. So we need Mexico's continued help, and we need even more aggressive efforts to try to crack down on the drug problem. But I would suggest there are two other things that we will be addressing in this House before too long: one is the Colombia Plan, or better referred to as the Andes Region Plan. Clearly Colombia is in deep trouble. Clearly the cocaine and heroin that is pouring into our country through Mexico and corrupting Mexico is coming originally out of Colombia for the most part. We need to do whatever we can to help the brave people on the ground in Colombia who are fighting the narco-traffic thugs, whether they be FARC or whether they be others, in Colombia; and we need to be able to pass that passage through this House and through this Senate and get it signed by the President as soon as possible, because we cannot get control in the demand reduction side if the price keeps going down, if the purity goes up, and the supply is coming in the way it is. Secondly, as we address the Safe and Drugfree Schools Act and as we look at other acts in Congress, we need to make sure that we do not so water down our prevention programs in this country that they no longer have the antidrug bite in them. If we water these things down so much it becomes kind of a feel-good type of program rather than an accountability program, such as making sure we push drug testing and other methods of accountability. Rather than just talk, countries like Mexico and Colombia have a somewhat legitimate gripe, that we are always pointing the finger at them while we are consuming all this and not doing anything domestically. Another problem that I will be soon meeting with the Department of Education about is an amendment that former Congressman Solomon and I passed on the student loans that said if you are convicted of a drug offense, you lose your loan for 1 year. If you are convicted a second time after you come back in, you lose it for 2 years, and a third time and you are out. The Department of Education has put out a form that over 100,000, probably 150,000 students, did not even check. We need to take aggressive action to make sure that those students who did not check that cannot get their loan if they do not check that box. Furthermore, we need a random sampling procedure to make sure that they are actually telling the truth, that the Department of Education partly in my opinion as a gutting process said this applied to everybody in all their years prior to going to college. This was an accountability provision, not before you went to college. But once you take a student loan, we expect you to be clean, because you cannot be learning if you are on drugs. You cannot be exercising your responsibility if we give you a subsidized loan and then you are on drugs. I also had an amendment that said if you test clean twice during that process of your first suspension, you can get your loan back. I believe education is critical. But if we are really committed in this country, forget about just talking about Mexico or Colombia or Panama or Peru or Bolivia, if we are committed in this country and we really care about our kids and we care about the violence in the streets and violence in the families, we need to take some serious steps in this Congress to put some accountability at the high school level, at the elementary school level, at the college level and at the adult level, and put some dollars as well as some restrictions behind it.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to move up on the list and insert my name in the place of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).