H.R. 4300 - Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act
(McCollum (R) Florida and 55 cosponsors)
The Administration supports the objectives of H.R. 4300 and shares the
Congress' commitment to reducing the supply of drugs coming into the United
States from other countries in the Western Hemisphere. However, the
Administration opposes H.R. 4300 as currently drafted. Some of the
Administration's concerns include:
Funding enhancements that are not tied to a coherent strategy
. The bill simply enumerates a series of specific procurement and
funding actions without indicating how they relate to one another or to
existing drug interdiction activities. The Administration has proposed
a comprehensive and integrated approach to reducing the flow of drugs
into the United States in its National Drug Control Strategy.
Proposing authorizations that are far in excess of expected
appropriations and the President's Budget without specifying where these
funds will come from. H.R. 4300 would authorize $2.6 billion in
appropriations in addition to those already authorized for FYs
1999-2001. To date, Congress has not appropriated funds for many of the
Administration's anti-drug abuse requests. As one example, the House
has provided the Coast Guard with approximately $82 million less than
requested for FY 1999 to maintain current operating levels.
Infringing on the authority of the President and the Secretary of
State. H.R. 4300 would infringe on the President's appointment
powers and the Secretary of State's flexibility in personnel matters and
intrude upon well established procedures for providing foreign military
assistance.
Suggesting the transfer of the Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) from the State Department to the Drug
Enforcement Administration. The clear assumption of Section 207 is
that certain foreign assistance activities of the State Department could
be better carried out by a law enforcement agency. This assumption is
neither substantiated nor soundly based. INL is a central and
highly-regarded component of the interagency counter-narcotics effort.
Imposing inflexible requirements that could quickly become
useless. The bill would authorize funds for two mobile x-ray
machines to be placed along a specific highway in Bolivia. The
locations of such machines should not be specified by statute but left
to the discretion of the commanders on the ground.
Reducing the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies by
consolidating joint interagency task forces (JIATF). Consolidating
all JIATFs would reduce Defense Department support to law enforcement
agencies attempting to disrupt the flow of drugs from Asia and the
Southwest Border.
The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to implement
a drug control strategy that is realistic, comprehensive, coherent, and
flexible.
