Pubdate: Mon, 25 Jul 2005
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
854 23293480.xml&coll=7
Copyright: 2005 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Steve Suo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CONGRESS IS ASKED TO DELAY METH SANCTIONS

The State Department Says It's Working On Its Own Plan Despite 
Legislation That Has Passed The House, Which Says A Nation Fights 
Drugs Or Loses U.S. Aid

The U.S. State Department is resisting a plan in Congress to cut 
foreign aid to Mexico and other countries if they fail to keep 
pseudoephedrine out of the hands of methamphetamine producers.

The reason: The Bush administration is developing a similar plan of its own.

At issue is a proposal by U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn. It would 
expand on existing law that says the president must either certify 
countries are doing enough to fight drugs or withdraw U.S. dollars. 
Under the Kennedy amendment, top importers and exporters of 
pseudoephedrine would receive special scrutiny.

State Department officials say they agree with Kennedy on the need to 
deal with the international trade in meth and its key ingredient -- 
pseudoephedrine -- and are working on a response.

"The administration recognizes that the current certification process 
does not address countries in which synthetic drugs and precursor 
chemicals are produced," said Joanne Moore, a department spokeswoman. 
State Department officials are now working with other federal 
agencies "with a view toward proposing a solution."

Another State Department official, speaking on condition of 
anonymity, said the agency would like Kennedy to hold off for a year 
so it can work out comprehensive legislation.

Kennedy's amendment responds directly to issues raised in "The 
Mexican Connection," an investigation by The Oregonian that found 
Mexico is now importing about twice as much pseudoephedrine as the 
country needs for cold medicine. U.S. officials say large-scale 
"superlabs" in Mexico, not home meth labs, are the main source of 
meth sold in the United States.

The House voted 423-2 last Tuesday to add the Kennedy amendment to 
the State Department's two-year authorization bill. The authorization 
bill was then approved on a vote of 351-78 Wednesday and moved to the Senate.

In a written statement, the Minnesota representative rejected the 
State Department's pleas to wait for the Bush administration to 
complete its work. "Now is the time when we must step up our efforts 
to battle this drug, before this drug reaches any further into our 
communities," Kennedy's statement said.

"The Kennedy amendment, as 423 members of Congress affirmed by voting 
for its passage, is the tool that accomplishes that."

The certification process has long been a hot potato for U.S. diplomats.

Each year, the government would release its list of major trafficking 
countries, and Congress publicly pressed the president to withdraw 
aid from those considered recalcitrant. Countries on the list, 
including Mexico, objected that the annual process was poisoning 
their relations with the United States.

In 2002, Congress amended the certification law, setting a lower bar 
for countries to be certified as cooperating with international 
efforts against narcotics.

As a practical matter, State Department officials say, the Kennedy 
amendment would have no impact because it alters the old 
certification process that existed before 2002. But congressional 
aides insist the Kennedy amendment is worded in a way that would 
revive the old language of the law, specifically when it comes to a 
country's trade in meth ingredients.

Sponsors of the amendment were a coalition of Democratic and 
Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore.

Hooley, Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., and a number of Midwest 
Republicans offered a separate amendment that would require U.S. 
diplomats to work more closely with Mexico to crack down on the 
diversion of pseudoephedrine and production of meth. It would also 
earmark $4 million for this purpose.

Hooley's amendment, which also passed by a near-unanimous vote, has 
the State Department's support.

"We're very concerned about the increased diversion of precursor 
chemicals and the influx of methamphetamine into the United States 
from Mexico," said Moore, the State Department spokeswoman. "We're 
prepared to strengthen the assistance to and cooperation with Mexico 
in this important area."
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