COURSE CHANGE SUPPORT BILLS TO ALTER DRUG CERTIFICATION OF MEXICO

Cooperation between U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Texas'
Republican Sen. Phil Gramm, opposites on the political spectrum and not
usually legislative allies, is something of an attention getter on Capitol
Hill. Their cooperation also is getting some attention along the
U.S.-Mexican border with the refiling of an unsuccessful bill co-sponsored
by the pair that would exempt Mexico from the counterproductive annual drug
certification process.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which Boxer is a member,
recently held hearings on the bill and several other proposals to do away
with or temporarily halt the certification.

Under current law, each Nov. 1 the U.S. president must submit a list to
Congress of the world's major drug-producing and drug transit countries.
The president is required to evaluate each country on the list by March 1
and to "certify" whether it is cooperating fully in anti-drug efforts.

The problem is that the process, which ignores U.S. demand for drugs, is
insulting and often damages efforts to enlist the full cooperation of
partner nations like Mexico.

It's "a lose-lose situation at every turn," says Boxer.

"The only thing wrong with our drug certification law," says Gramm, "is
that when we try to apply it to Mexico, it doesn't work. Instead of
stemming the influx of drugs, it forces the United States to certify
something that is plainly false, or it hobbles the Mexican officials who
want to join us in halting the cross-border drug trade."

Gramm, who recently met with Mexico's new President Vicente Fox, says he is
convinced Fox is more determined to deal with drug smuggling than any other
president in Mexico's history.

For that reason Gramm again is pushing the legislation, which failed in
Congress last year. The Boxer-Gramm bill would exempt countries that have
reached bilateral agreements with the United States. The bilateral
agreements would address the issues relating to the control of illicit
drugs, including production, distribution, border security, reduction of
demand and cooperation among law enforcement agencies.

Texas' other senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, is sponsoring her own
legislation (for which Gramm is a co-sponsor). Her bill is among several
proposals that would suspend the certification process for Mexico for one
to two years until a comprehensive approach to the problems can be formulated.

By treating Mexico as a more equal partner in the anti-drug effort, these
ideas would put an end to the certification charade and the sidelight
politics that don't really address the issues.