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Congressional Budget Justification for
Released by the Office of the Secretary of State
Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2001
Resources, Plans and Policy
U.S. Department of State, March 15, 2000
FY 2000 SUPPLEMENTAL AND ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS
DEBT RESTRUCTURING
($ in thousands)
Account
FY 2000 Supplemental Request
HIPC Trust Fund
210,000
Justification:
For the world's poorest countries, debt reduction provides an incentive to implement macroeconomic and structural reforms necessary to improve economic performance and creditworthiness. Debt relief, economic reform, and poverty reduction contribute to economic growth and social development, which can mean expanded opportunities for trade and investment for the United States.
The HIPC Trust Fund request, and necessary authorization language, totals $600 million, of which $210 million is requested as a FY 2000 supplemental, $150 million is requested for FY 2001, and $240 million as an advance appropriation for FY 2002.
The HIPC Trust Fund was established in 1996 to meet the needs of regional multilateral development banks (MDBs) and other multilateral organizations that do not have the resources to participate fully in the HIPC Initiative. The fund currently has $329 million in contributions, and may need as much as $3.6 billion. As countries are becoming eligible for debt relief under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, sufficient funds to treat early cases are critical to maintaining the credibility of the initiative. Failure to secure funding in FY 2000 for the HIPC Trust Fund is likely to delay full implementation of the HIPC initiative, particularly for Latin American countries. Participation by all creditors is critical to ensure that the savings from debt relief generate sufficient resources to address poverty reduction. The U.S. funds will leverage contributions from others and will help ensure that adequate funds will be available as countries become eligible for debt relief.
Additionally, for the cost of bilateral debt reduction under this initiative, we are requesting $75 million in the President's request for FY 2001, and an advance appropriation of $135 million is being requested for FY 2003. Funding for bilateral debt reduction will reduce approximately $2.1 billion in debt. In total, U.S. participation in the enhanced HIPC initiative can leverage up to $90 billion in debt relief for the world's poorest countries.
THE BALKANS AND SOUTHEAST EUROPE
($ in thousands)
Account
FY 2000 Supplemental Request
Assistance for East Europe and the Baltic States (SEED)
195,000
USAID Operating Expenses
22,000
Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
31,000
International Military Education and Training (IMET)
2,875
Subtotal, Foreign Operations
250,875
Justification:
Southeast Europe, and particularly the former Yugoslavia, has been a region of chronic instability over the past ten years. Two major wars resulted in the worst human rights violations in Europe since the Holocaust and have caused billions of dollars of economic damage. Only concerted political and military intervention by the United States and its allies has brought about the current peace, and it is a fragile one, one which will take considerable effort and resources by the United States and its allies to cement. In the interest of regional stability, and the protection of democracy and human rights, it is clear that we and our allies need to be engaged in this region economically, politically, and militarily if we are to end this chronic instability.
The supplemental funding is necessary to continue fostering a peaceful transition in the Balkans toward a market-oriented, democratic future. These funds are intended for a still fragile Kosovo, where problems with UNMIK's operations have arisen, and to address unforeseen circumstances elsewhere in the region, including:
- Getting the new pro-reform government in Croatia off to a fast start after the electoral defeat of the nationalists;
- New pressures on the democratic forces within Montenegro;
- New opportunities for U.S. and EU support to the Milosevic opposition in Serbia.
The emergency supplemental requests $624 million to address these unforeseen requirements in Kosovo and Southeast Europe, of which $251 million is under the authority of the Foreign Operations subcommittees and the remainder of Commerce-Justice-State (CJS). Foreign Operations funding will be used for economic and democratic reform activities and USAID operating expenses in Kosovo, Croatia, and Montenegro; support for the democratic opposition in Serbia. Additional FMF and IMET is needed to support the professionalization of military organizations in Southeast European countries, many of which will ultimately be candidates for NATO membership. Finally, more funds are needed to stimulate European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) lending through the trust fund.
The CJS portion of the supplemental request, $374 million, will be used to build secure U.S. diplomatic facilities in Kosovo, Bosnia and Albania, to pay expected additional assessments for UN peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and East Timor, cover additional State Department operating costs in the region, and support Fullbright and other exchange programs.
Kosovo: The supplemental request would allow the U.S. government to join the international community in addressing the immediate needs of the international authorities in Kosovo. Recent violence continues to jeopardize the success of the peacekeeping mission. U.S. soldiers will face greater risks unless order and viable economic opportunities are brought to the province. Increased support is necessary to maintain and strengthen local institutions and governance, repress ethnic violence and restart the economy.
An increase of $14.4 million for civilian police will maintain the U.S. share of the UN International Police Force at original proportions as the police presence expands to help address the continued unrest in Kosovo and expand judicial reform. An additional $58.1 million towards economic reform will assist the stimulation of private sector growth. The remaining $20.3 million of the supplemental request would cover further efforts to strengthen the judicial, human rights, and municipal authorities as well as supplement the revenue collected by UNMIK's local authorities to cover the gap in the budget of this local administration.
Croatia: Following the HDZ party's recent defeat in parliamentary and presidential elections, U.S. assistance to Croatia was increased by almost one-third to $20 million, yet additional funds are needed to help ensure rapid improvement in economic and political conditions. The new government must design and implement market reforms to overcome the disastrous economic legacy of Tudjman and his hard-line HDZ party. The $35.7 million in supplemental funding would go towards programs in economic reform ($24 million), $9.2 million would fund programs to help democratic forces consolidate their victory institutionally, and $2 million would augment programs to support refugee returns.
Montenegro: Milosevic has made himself an international pariah by attempting to ethnically cleanse Kosovo, and the need to bolster the opposition to his regime within Serbia as well as in Montenegro has become more urgent. His regime's economic mismanagement has turned chaotic. Democratic Montenegro needs more immediate funding to resolve it's economic situation. Additional SEED funds of $34 million will help Montenegro more rapidly develop economic policy and management skills, as well as strengthen the judiciary. Most importantly, the province needs more funds to cover the cost of imports of essentials, such as electricity, fuel and medicine, and to meet essential obligations, such as salaries for teachers and civil servants and payments of pensions.
Serbia: Replacing the Milosevic regime with a tolerant democracy is the key to achieving stability in Southeast Europe. Our major investment in bringing lasting peace to Bosnia and Kosovo will be threatened as long as Milosevic is in power, and the propensity for new crises erupting within the region is high. Fifteen million dollars would support material and technical assistance for three key components of the democratic movement in Serbia: opposition political parties and alliances; independent media; and grass-roots organizations such as pro-democracy NGOs, labor unions and youth groups. Funds will also be used to maintain and enlarge the ability to broadcast television and radio into Serbia from sites in neighboring areas, and to support economic, political and administrative reform.
Regional SEED Account: Seventeen million dollars in regional SEED funds will fund two needed programs. The Regional Anti-Organized Crime program ($12 million) would form highly-trained groups ("vetted units") of police officers and prosecutors in Albania, Bosnia, and Kosovo to investigate significant cases of organized crime and corruption. Improving the effectiveness of law enforcement in these countries is key to assisting U.S. peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Kosovo, and to establishing a stable and secure environment to permit their timely withdrawal.
Another $5 million in supplemental funds is requested to create a U.S. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) Trust Fund at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The total U.S. contribution in FY 2000 would total $15 million for the SME Trust Fund. This fund would provide an important source of financing for the private sector in Southeast Europe, a key factor in stimulating broad-based economic growth and sustainable development, which in turn opens markets, expands exports, and assists American businesses.
FMF/IMET: Central to lasting peace in Europe is the political, economic, and military integration of the countries of Southeast Europe and the Balkans into Europe and the global community. Militaries in the region continue to undergo restructuring. U.S. military assistance is focused on helping these militaries contribute to the region's stability through the strengthening of civilian control of the military and increasing the effectiveness of their cooperation with NATO in Bosnia, Kosovo, including active participation in Partnership for Peace (PfP), joint exercises, as well as humanitarian, search and rescue and peacekeeping operations.
However, the Kosovo crisis fully engaged the militaries in the region, causing delays and, in some cases, postponement of acquisitions of U.S. military defense articles, services and training. The Kosovo crisis, combined with tight national defense budgets during this period, has resulted in equipment and training shortfalls necessary to help these militaries contribute fully to security in the region. The countries to receive the supplemental IMET and FMF funding include Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. These countries also face the most immediate threat of instability spilling over from Milosevic's Serbia.
Individual country and regional program papers contain descriptions of current funding levels and FY 2001 requests.
ASSISTANCE TO PLAN COLOMBIA
($ in millions)
Goal/Country
FY 2000 Supplemental
FY 2001 Request
Total
Push Into Southern Colombia
(Colombia only)512
88
599
International Affairs Component (150)
[482]
[67]
[548]
DoD Component (050)
[30]
[21]
[51]
Drug Trafficking Interdiction
238
102
341
Colombia
220
75
295
International Affairs Component (150)
[113]
[34]
[147]
DoD Component (050)
[107]
[41]
[148]
Peru
10
12
22
Bolivia
2
4
6
Ecuador
2
4
6
Other (Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil)
5
7
12
Colombian National Police
(Colombia only)68
28
95
Alternative Development
92
53
145
Colombia
62
53
115
Peru
15
-
15
Bolivia
12
-
12
Ecuador
3
-
3
Boost Governing Capacity
(Colombia only)45
48
93
TOTAL, PLAN COLOMBIA
954
318
1,273
International Affairs Component (150)
[818]
[256]
[1,073]
DoD Component (050)
[137]
[62]
[199]
- Assistance to Plan Colombia is a two-year, $1.273 billion Foreign Operations and Department of Defense (DoD) program designed to reduce the supply of drugs to the United States and improve the ability of the Government of Colombia, the Andean Ridge, and other countries in the region to address the interlocking problems of narcotrafficking, human rights abuses, internally displaced persons, economic deterioration and to provide support for the peace process.
- Of the overall request, 94% of the funding is in support of Colombia. The remaining funding supports efforts in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Panama. The activities in these countries funded under Assistance to Plan Colombia focus on the alternative development and drug trafficking interdiction.
Foreign Operations
Country Totals ($ in millions)FY 2000 Supplemental
FY 2001 Request
Total
Colombia
769
229
998
Peru
25
12
37
Bolivia
14
4
18
Ecuador
5
4
9
Other (Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil)
5
7
12
TOTAL
818
256
1,073
- Approximately 21 percent of the two-year program will enhance alternative development, strengthen civil justice, human rights and democratic institutions, and assist the internally displaced. The remainder of the program provides assistance to counter-narcotics forces engaged in eradication and interdiction and to selected military forces supporting them. The two-year Foreign Operations and DoD package consists of:
1. FY 2000 - Foreign Operations ($818 million) and DoD ($137 million) emergency supplemental requests;
2. FY 2001 - Foreign Operations ($256 million) and DoD ($62 million) budget requests specifically for Assistance to Plan Colombia.
3. In addition to the two-year Plan Colombia package, $334 million in FY 2000 and FY 2001 "base programs" brings the total funding for Colombia to approximately $1.6 billion.
- The five components of Assistance to Plan Colombia entail:
1. Push Into Southern Colombia: Colombia provides 80 percent of the cocaine and more than one-third of the heroin consumed in the US. The world's greatest expansion in drug cultivation is occurring in insurgent-dominated southern Colombia. Illegal armed groups such as the FARC and paramilitaries earn hundreds of millions of dollars per year participating in and protecting the narcotics trade in Colombia. The U.S. objective is to cap that expansion of coca cultivation this year, and begin rolling it back subsequently. We intend to replicate in Colombia the dramatic and sustained decreases in narcotics production that U.S. programs have produced in Peru and Boliva in recent years.
This package funds $600 million over the next two years to help train and equip two special counter-narcotics battalions (CNBN) which, in addition to the CNBN that the US just trained, will round out a CN Brigade. The Colombian National Police (CNP) lack the capability to carry out counter-narcotics missions in the southern departments of Caqueta and Putumayo, which have become the center of coca cultivation, due to good growing conditions and the concentration of well-armed guerrillas and paramilitary groups operating there. The Colombian Army CNBNs will be dedicated to supporting the CNP to enable them to eradicate illicit crops, destroy drug labs, and arrest those involved in drug trafficking.
CNBN mobility is paramount to the success of this effort. Without airlift, the CNBNs will not be able to operate in the most active coca growing areas in preparation for CNP eradication and lab interdiction operations. The package will provide 30 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and 15 UH-1N Huey helicopters, as well as funding to sustain 18 UH-1N Hueys now in Colombia. This will give the CNBNs the air-mobility they need to access remote and undeveloped regions of southern Colombia. The assistance package will also provide resources to increase intelligence for the Colombian Joint Task Force-South, based at Tres Esquinas, which includes fully-vetted participants from all the military services and the Colombian National Police. The package will also provide funds for shelter and assistance to the Colombian people who will be displaced due to the counter-drug effects of this push into the southern coca-growing regions of Colombia.
2. Drug Trafficking Interdiction: The package beefs up regional interdiction capabilities, partially to prevent success in Colombia from pushing the problem back onto its neighbors. To this end, the $341 million (split almost equally between Foreign Operations and Defense appropriations) over the next two years will improve radar systems to track suspected targets, upgrade airfields, and modify AC-37 and OV-10 aircraft to give Colombia a greater ability to intercept traffickers and provide better intelligence to allow the CNP and military to respond quickly to narcotics activity. The proposal would also fund the construction of a US Forward Operating Location in Manta, Ecuador and fund assistance to enhance interdiction efforts in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador to prevent narco-traffickers and growers from moving into neighboring countries.
The package will expand air riverine, maritime and overland interdiction capability. In Peru and Bolivia it will fund upgrades to helicopters and aircraft to enhance interdiction programs and prevent the pressure in Colombia from forcing the drug trade back into neighboring countries. It will fund a one-time, $68 million upgrade of radar systems on US Customs P3 AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft used for detection and monitoring of suspected narco-tarfficking targets in the cocaine source zone, primarily Colombia. Similarly, it will beef up the detection, tracking and interdiction capabilities of the Colombian Air Force, including the outfitting of two more AC-47s (bringing the Colombian inventory to a total of six) for close support protection of the CNBNs.
3. Colombian National Police: The CNP has been at the forefront of Colombian counter-drug efforts. The package will fund $95 million over the next two years to enhance the CNP's ability to eradicate coca and poppy fields by upgrading existing CNP Huey UH-IHs to Super Huey's (greater lift, speed, range), procuring additional spray aircraft, providing secure bases for increased operations in the coca-growing center, and supplying more intelligence on the narcotics traffickers. This funding, in conjunction with the establishment of the CNBNs, will enable the CNP to conduct operations in narcotics-growing areas previously beyond their reach.
4. Alternative Development: The $145 million over the next two years represents more than a ten-fold increase in aid to Colombian farmers who seek alternatives to growing coca and opium poppy, and to increasing local governments' ability to respond to the needs of their people. Through PLANTE, Colombia's Alternative Development agency, US funds will provide basic social infrastructure to communities committing to voluntary eradication. Assistance will increase communities' productivity through credit and technical assistance for planting and marketing replacement crops. As interdiction and eradication make drug farming less profitable and appealing, these programs will assist communities in the transition to licit economic activity. Of this amount,$30 million will fund alternative development in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, and $25 million will assist internally displaced persons (IDPs), providing basic social services for up to 300,000 people displaced by violence and conflict.
5. Boost Governing Capacity: Approximately $93 million over two years (with $45 million targeted for FY 2000 and $48 million for FY 2001) is directed at boosting the government capacity of the GOC - primarily dedicated to justice and human rights related projects to be undertaken by DOJ and USAID. Human rights and the rule of law are central to the US commitment to a comprehensive solution to the problems of Colombia. US assistance will fund increased training for the police, prosecutors and judges in areas of human rights, narcotics, maritime and border security, corruption, kidnapping and money laundering/asset forfeiture cases. Funds will also be used for security protection for witnesses, judges and prosecutors in the criminal justice system, as well as in prison design and administration. Assistance will support procedural and legal reforms for the transition to an accusatory judicial system, including oral trials.
There also must be close coordination between civilian and military justice systems to ensure that any member of the armed forces implicated in human rights abuses is properly investigated and held accountable for crimes. Funding for human rights strengthening includes training and support for human rights NGOs as well as government investigators and prosecutors, including a specialized human rights task force (approximately $15 million over two years.)
[end document]
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