HOUSE PANEL GETS CHANCE TO FINE-TUNE COLOMBIA DRUG BILL

WASHINGTON - The war on drugs may approach a moment of truth
today.

It is set to happen in Room 2359 at the Rayburn Building, when the
chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, C.W. Bill Young of
Florida, opens a hearing on an emergency spending bill for fighting
drugs in Colombia.

First, the committee will hear about the Republican leadership's new
$2 billion plan to attack drug cultivation and trafficking in Colombia
and the Andean ridge, an increase of $428 million over the Clinton
administration's proposal.

Then, members will offer amendments, the most substantial one expected
from California Representative Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, who wants to
add up to $1.3 billion for treatment of drug addicts in America. If
she offers the amendment as planned, it would mark a rare occasion in
the drug war when decision makers look at both growers and users, and
then make a judgment on how best to spend money.

In Washington, the focus on drugs is almost always on fighting the
problem far from home; only 18 percent, or $3.8 billion, of the
national drug budget is spent on treatment.

To the surprise of many here, members of Congress have challenged the
Colombia plan on a number of fronts. Still, congressional staff
members believe that a Republican-White House tandem has enough votes
to pass the $2 billion plan.

A Pelosi amendment, the staff members say, would have a slim chance of
passage, although the issue of more money for treatment is expected to
arise again in Senate debate.

While several staff members said Pelosi is set to offer a $1.3 billion
admendment, a Pelosi spokesman said a decision would be made this
morning. He said Democratic leaders could even scuttle all amendments
and challenge the legislation later.

Noting the divisiveness in the congressional debate, the Republican
leaders-namely House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois and three
panel chairmen, Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, Sonny Callahan of
Alabama, and John L. Mica of Florida - decided against wholesale
changes in the Clinton plan in hopes of holding together their
coalition. With White House acquiesence, their changes included:

Taking two of the 30 Sikorsky UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters earmarked
for the military and giving them to the Colombian police, who are
supported by Hastert and Gilman.

Expanding regional funds to $137 million from $76 million, the bulk of
it for Bolivia.

Adding $282.5 million for the Drug Enforcement Agency for increased
electronic surveillance domestically and internationally, and $116
million for upgrading and building airfields in Ecuador, Aruba, and
Curacao.

From the start, the White House's original plan - $1.27 billion in new
funding and $330 million in existing requests - was criticized by
human rights groups for relying heavily on Colombia's military, which
reportedly has ties with outlaw paramilitary groups. A Human Rights
Watch report found that nearly half of Colombia's military units were
linked to paramilitaries, known to commit some of the worst abuses in
Colombia's long civil war.

The US-financed attack stays clear of the areas controled by
paramilitary forces in central and northern Colombia. The leader of
the paramilitaries acknowledged last week in a television interview
that the drug trade provided 70 percent of the group's funding.

''The paramilitaries are up to their eyeballs in drug trafficking and
yet this package doesn't address that,'' said Representative James P.
McGovern,a Worcester Democrat.

The administration's strategy is to provide air transportation for
three US-trained military brigades to the largely guerrilla-controlled
Putumayo and Caqueta regions, home to 64 percent of the country's coca
crop, according to US estimates.

Even the choice of helicopters has stirred debate, with some human
rights groups questioning the muted role of two Connecticut
progressives, Senator Christopher J. Dodd and Representative Sam
Gejdenson. Both lawmkers traditionally have been outspoken on human
rights issues, especially in Latin America, but they have said little
about the Colombian bill.

Some human rights advocates wonder whether that has something to do
with a potential $400 million contract for the Connecticut-based
United Technologies Corp., which makes the Blackhawk
helicopters.

Dodd and Gejdenson said that's nonsense, adding they haven't decided
whether to support the bill. ''If there's a need for helicopters, they
ought to have the best, and the general consensus is that the
helicopters made in Connecticut are the best for the job,'' Gejdenson
said.

But he added: ''We need to expand the discussion on drugs. We need to
do a lot more work on demand reduction, and one of my concerns with
this package is that there is a danger we simply move the cultivation
to another country. That doesn't achieve your goal. Demand reduction
might do more.''