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."