BYLINE: TOM GJELTEN, WASHINGTON, DC; BOB EDWARDS, WASHINGTON, DC
by Tom Gjelten, Washington, DC; Bob Edwards, Washington, DC
Content and programming copyright (c) 1997 National Public
Radio, Inc. All rights reserved. Transcribed by Federal
Document Clearing House, Inc. under license from National
Public Radio, Inc. Formatting copyright (c) 1997 Federal
Document Clearing House, Inc. All rights reserved.
NPRSHOW: MORNING EDITION (NPR 10:00 am ET) MARCH 21, 1997 News;
International

BOB EDWARDS, HOST: A threeweek long argument between the
Clinton administration and Congress over Mexico's drug
fighting record has been settled with a compromise. The
Senate voted yesterday to accept the president's
certification of Mexico as a cooperative partner, but
criticized Mexico's counternarcotics program as
ineffective. The resolution, approved by a 954 vote,
requires the president to give the Congress a progress
report by September 1 on joint U.S. Mexican efforts to
fight the drug trade. Members of Congress who wanted to
decertify Mexico have given up that campaign. But NPR's
Tom Gjelten reports the certification controversy is not
over.
TOM GJELTEN, NPR REPORTER: Congress came up with the
idea that the president should each year certify which
countries are allies in the fight against drug trafficking.
That was in 1986 when the illegal drug trade was just
becoming an international problem. The certification law
was enacted with broad bipartisan support. But a strict
thumbs up/thumbs down call can be difficult, especially
where neighboring countries are concerned. Latin American
governments hate the idea of the United States grading
them, and no U.S. president has ever dared give Mexico a
failing mark, even though up to 60 percent of cocaine
entering the United States comes through Mexico. President
Clinton's certification of Mexico this year convinced many
on Capitol Hill that the program isn't working the way it
was originally intended. The second guessing continued
right up through yesterday's Senate floor debate. U.S.

SENATOR TIM HUTCHINSON (RAR): This certification process
has become a sham. It is intellectually dishonest.

GJELTEN: Republican Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas, a new
senator, faulted his colleagues for allowing the president
to say Mexico was cooperating with U.S. counternarcotics
efforts when some evidence suggested otherwise. But
criticism of the certification process yesterday was not
limited to those who thought Mexico got off too easy.
Democrat Christopher Dodd of Connecticut said the United
States should address its own drug problem before passing
judgment on those countries that supply the U.S. habit.

U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER DODD (DCT): I would strongly
suggest to my colleagues and I realize I'm in a
minority, maybe a minority of one, Mr. President that we
ought to scrap this certification process and try and come
up with some alternative idea that would allow us to
develop a partnership, working on the assumption that there
are good people in these countries.