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US House OKs $1.6 billion for drug war



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The House of Representatives on Tuesday authorized spending $1.6 billion over the next three years to help Mexico and other countries counter growing drug violence and the cartels behind it. But the money is not assured. The bill, approved 311-106, would not provide any money to Mexico. That could come separately in pending bills funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and future appropriations bills.

The House and Senate are negotiating with the administration on the war spending bills to avoid a threatened veto by President Bush. In addition, the Mexican government is opposing the anti-drug trafficking aid in the war bills because of requirements in it that Mexico says interfere with its sovereignty.

A delegation of congressional members met with Mexico officials over the weekend to discuss Mexico's concerns. In the bill passed Tuesday, The House authorized about $1.1 billion for Mexico between 2008-2010; $405 million for Central America and Caribbean countries and $74 million for the Justice Department to stem the flow of U.S. guns into Mexico. The bill includes some human rights conditions and monitoring of how equipment and training have been used ''to make sure U.S. taxpayer dollars are going to support practices consistent with our values,'' said Lynne Weil, Berman's spokeswoman.

Bill supporters repeatedly praised Mexico President Felipe Calderon for escalating his war against the drug cartels in Tuesday's debate. They raised concerns about drug violence in Mexico spilling into the U.S. and noted the slaying of Edgar Millan Gomez, Mexico's acting federal police chief, similar to the U.S. FBI director. He was shot by a lone gunman May 8 outside his Mexico City apartment. Police blamed the Sinaloa drug cartel.

'It's high time for the United States to do more than applaud President Calderon's courage. We must work together to tackle this difficult problem,'' said Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. But some disagreed. Two Texas Republican lawmakers, Reps. Ted Poe and John Culberson, thwarted Berman's effort to pass the bill on a voice vote.

''We need to defeat this legislation until our southern border is secure,'' Culberson said.
stone246

8 responses // US House OKs $1.6 billion for drug war

  • I have to say that the drug war has been one of the biggest blunders ever in politics in my opinion! To criminalize something is to attracked a criminal element to the thing that you wanted to stop in the first place. REGULATION like in tobacco and alcohol help to keep the people in check and the taxes on such things bring in big money into the government! Take a look at Amsterdam, why can't we have a district where the junkies can get high and have to stay until sober, where the government makes money off the taxes and gives free rehab to anyone looking! Why are we giving all this money to other nations to get them to enforce our laws in their nations? Why not let them make their own laws and pay to enforce them? Why are we the ones paying for it? We could give all the children in the US a college education for free if we just stopped giving all this money to south america to follow our rules. Let the people make and enforce their own rules! And why should we be paying Mexico's government when so many of its people are HERE illegally? and the most dangerous are the dealers, if we REGULATED it, they would be out of business and would have to get a job and PAY TAXES, EVERYONE WINS!! Not to mention that with it like that no need for physician assisted suicide to people terminally ill, they would have access and could just ask what of this or that drug would be a lethal dose and could die with dignity.
    I think that there has to be a better way of dealing with the situation than leaving it open to corruption and criminals, we could take over and at least you would have to be 18 or 21 and maybe even a waiting period with counseling about what the effects are, and then if they still want it, This is AMERICA, freedom to be retarded right? Districts would provide a place for distribution and an area that people on such drugs would be confined to, even put up a blockade with a sobriety test at the exit gate. Then at least all the DEA officers would still have jobs too. AND WE COULD GO AFTER REAL CRIMINALS THAT ARE HURTING PEOPLE NOT AFTER A STONER EATING ICE CREAM!!! Good article stone246
    dcrc9596
    1 response to this
  • Insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing in the same way and expecting different results.
    seeker561
  • why can't it be legal? because americans are idiotic immature dolts who can't be trusted with such things. we are having a hard time limping along as it is, we don't need our greenbacks snorting our workforce into oblivion.

    you think crime will go down? hell no. people aren't smart enough to budget their coke addiction into their monthly incomes. people aren't making it as it is.

    do people understand how dangerous and how potent and how destructive drugs are? to your mental and physical health, emotions, relationships, family, everything is affected. really. seriously. i've had multiple friends die from OD's and my family has been torn apart because of my siblings use of drugs.

    drugs are bad, mmkay?

    you want to shoot up/snort/smoke yourself retarded get the fuck out of my country and move somewhere else, heres a quarter, call someone who gives a damn. stop bringing this once great nation down even farther
    diode
    2 responses to this
  • The title should read:

    US House OKs $1.6 billion for continued corruption.

    or

    US House OKs $1.6 billion for drug companies.
    YourMothersMilk
  • Oh yeah, Let's dump some more money in this pit. Legalize Marijuana and this will go away on it's own.
    Marilynn_Murray

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