House and Senate versions of 2009 supplemental differ widely for Latin America
The House has approved, and Senate is nearing approval, on versions of a "Supplemental Appropriation," an addition to the federal budget for 2009. The bill responds to a request (PDF) from the Obama administration to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other priorities. While supplemental appropriations to Latin America and the Caribbean make up only a small portion of the funds allocated in the bill, aid to Mexico skyrockets in the House version and therefore warrants special attention. The Senate and House versions of the Supplemental Appropriations bill include remarkable differences. One is the appropriation of funds to Mexico for counternarcotics efforts under the Mérida Initiative. The House bill recommends an additional $470,000,000 for Mexico - well over the Obama administration's $66 million request - which could bring the total 2009 military/police aid to Mexico to over $800,000,000. This sum, if passed, would move Colombia out of the number-one position among Western Hemisphere military aid recipients for the first time since before the "Just the Facts" program began monitoring aid (1996-97). Also of concern is the House version's removal of human rights conditions placed on aid to Mexico in the annual foreign aid budget bill passed in February (part of the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, or division H of Public Law 111-8). The Senate version, on the other hand, recommends only an additional $66,000,000 for the purchase of three Blackhawk helicopters, bringing Mexico's 2009 total up to approximately $460,000,000. The Senate version also leaves the human rights conditions intact. The House and Senate versions of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009, allocate some aid for internally displaced persons in Colombia and refugees in neighboring countries. But the bill's main focus is Mexico. Here is a brief summary of both bills, as they relate to Latin America and the Caribbean. You can read relevant excerpts from the bills on the Just the Facts website: S.1054; S. Rept. 111-020; H.R. 2346; and H. Rept. 111-105. International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement The 2009 Supplemental recommends additional aid to Mexico from the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) account, the Department of State's largest anti-narcotics program, which provides both military/police and economic/social aid. (INCLE is the largest source of military aid to Latin America and the Caribbean.) However, as described above, the difference in recommended amounts between the two bills is noteworthy. The House version of the 2009 Supplemental includes $160,000,000 for Mexico, while the Senate version includes the requested amount of $66,000,000. While both appropriations recommend $66,000,000 for the purchase of three Black Hawk helicopters, the House version recommends an additional $94,000,000, "intended for such items as forensics and nonintrusive inspection equipment, computers, training and fixed and rotary wing aircraft." The Senate bill maintains the human rights conditions of the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, while the House version manages to strip all conditions from the aid by stating that the above funds "shall be immediately available notwithstanding section 7045(e) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2009 (division H of Public Law 111-8)." The Senate version reiterates the reporting requirement outlined in that division H of Public Law 111-8. It reads "Not later than 60 days after enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations detailing actions taken by the Government of Mexico since June 30, 2008, to investigate and prosecute violations of internationally recognized human rights by members of the Mexican Federal police and military forces, and to support a thorough, independent, and credible investigation of the murder of American citizen Bradley Roland Will." It also continues to stipulate that none of the INCLE funds be used for the cost of fuel for the helicopters provided to Mexico, or for logistical support of aircraft purchased by the Government of Mexico, and that law enforcement communications equipment purchased with INCLE funds must "utilize open standards" and be "compatible with, and capable of operating with, radio communications systems and related equipment utilized by Federal law enforcement agencies in the United States to enhance border security and cooperation in law enforcement efforts between Mexico and the United States." The House Committee Report for this bill contends that stripping out human rights conditions seeks to "ensure the expeditious delivery of this equipment to Mexico and directs the Department of State to use all means necessary to ensure the prompt delivery of equipment." House appropriators appear to have concluded that human rights conditions would slow down the process. Foreign Military Financing FMF is the largest non-drug program providing military aid to the region. The Obama administration request for the 2009 Supplemental did not include FMF for Mexico, and the Senate version of the Supplemental Appropriations Act does not include any. However, the House version of the bill recommends $310,000,000 for Mexico, "to expand aviation support" through "funding for the final three surveillance planes (CASA 235) and for medium lift maritime transport helicopters (HH-60)" in order to "enhance the air transport ability and maritime aerial surveillance of the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) to conduct counternarcotics, and counterterrorism operations." The House version also drops human rights conditions on the FMF funds. The bill's language does recommend that the Secretary of State certify that "all practicable efforts have been made to ensure that such assistance is not provided to or through any individual, or private or government entity, that advocates, plans, sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in, terrorist activity." The House Committee report for the bill also states that the Committee "directs the Departments of State and Defense to use all means necessary to ensure the prompt delivery of equipment provided for in this Act and any equipment, technical assistance, and training provided in prior Acts." The prior acts providing Mérida Initiative aid are the 2009 State/Foreign Operations bill and the 2008 Supplemental Appropriation. The Senate version recommends that "of the funds appropriated under the heading 'Foreign Military Financing Program' in Public Law 110-161 that are available for assistance for Colombia, $500,000 may be transferred to, and merged with, funds appropriated under the heading 'International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement' to provide medical and rehabilitation assistance for members of Colombian security forces who have suffered severe injuries." Migration and Refugee Assistance In its recommendation for supplemental appropriations of funds to the Migration and Refugee Assistance account, the Senate version of the bill specifies an additional $5,000,000 for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Colombia. It also recommends that $3,500,000 be transfered from funds previously allocated to Colombia under the heading "Economic Support Fund" to Migration and Refugee Assistance funds to be "made available only for assistance to nongovernmental organizations that provide emergency relief aid to Colombian refugees in neighboring countries." This same language appears in the 2009 foreign aid bill, thus bringing the total funds allocated from ESF to Migration and Refugee Assistance for Colombian refugees up to $7,000,000 for 2009. The House version of the bill does not specifically recommend allocating any additional aid for Colombia IDPs or refugees. Southwest border In the Obama administration's request to Congress for the Supplemental, the President requested $350,000,000 for unspecified purposes related to activities on the Southwest border. In the request, funds were to be appropriated to the Department of Defense, for transfer to appropriate agencies. The House version of the bill appears to follow the request by providing "$350,000,000 for counter narcotics and other activities including assistance to other Federal agencies on the United States' border with Mexico, including authority to transfer up to $100,000,000 to other Federal appropriations accounts" under the heading "Operations and Maintenance, Defense-Wide." The Senate version, on the other hand, gives detailed recommendations in the Committee report of how the $350,000,000 should be distributed among various agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.