DRUG-WAR PLAN MEETS SKEPTICISM

House Members Leery Of $1.4 Billion Initiative From White House

WASHINGTON - President Bush's proposal to send $1.4-billion worth of
equipment to Mexico and six South American nations to combat drug
cartels was met with hostility from members of a House committee that
examined the plan for the first time Wednesday.

Although most agreed that an initiative to stop drug cartels is
overdue, Bush's plan worried some members of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee. They thought that more money should be spent to
"curb the appetite" for drugs, feared that corrupt Mexican military
and police would take and misuse equipment, and were angry that
Congress had not been aware that such a plan was being considered.

"We first learned of the initiative from the media. For an
administration which is not particularly noted for its
bipartisanship, this cavalier disregard of congressional concern is
deeply disturbing," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, the
committee's chairman.

By bypassing the opinion of Congress, said Rep. David Scott, D-Ga.,
Bush is putting America's foreign relations in jeopardy.

"The Congress is not just a bank for the president to come to us for
money," he said. "We're not just here to be a rubber stamp."

The initial $550 million for the plan is part of the administration's
fiscal year 2008 supplemental funding request for military spending
in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first payment would allot $500 million
to Mexico and spread $50 million among six South American countries.