In today's hearing, we zero in on the national security
threat posed by the explosion of maritime drug trafficking
in the transit zone, and the extraordinary efforts by the
United States Coast Guard's to combat it. Let me say, by
"transit zone", we mean the 2 million square mile area
between the U.S. and South American borders and covers the
Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, Mexico
and the Eastern Pacific. We are privileged to have Admiral
Robert Kramek, President Clinton's outstanding Interdiction
Coordinator and the Commandant of the Coast Guard. Admiral
Kramek has been a tremendous leader in our interdiction
efforts and we welcome him here today. We are also pleased
to have with us several "front line" Coast Guard personnel
direct from operations within the transit zonea C130
pilot, a HU25C pilot, a Commanding Officer of a cutter,
and a boarding officer. These officers are the ones who
have to risk their lives tracking, pursuing and arresting
international drug traffickers off the coasts of Colombia
and Mexico and our own coast. We are honored to have all of
you brave men here. Finally, we have Admiral Paul Yost,
former Coast Guard Commandant, and the architect of the
highly effective late1980's drug interdiction program.
Welcome. Stopping the flow of cocaine into the United
States is the number one priority of the international drug
control policy. Currently, over 30% of the cocaine entering
the United States comes through the Caribbean, mostly from
Colombia bound for Mexico and Puerto Rico. Roughly $15
billion worth of Cocaine travels through the Caribbean. A
great deal of this cocaine enters the United States through
the ports and borders of Puerto Rico. Have no doubts, drugs
entering Puerto Rico don't stop there80% continue on to
the rest of the U.S.All current indicators show an increase
in trafficking through the Caribbean. But there is another
untold story. Budget reductions since 1992 for interdiction
efforts have reduced the ability of law enforcement and the
Defense Department to identify, to track, and to intercept
international drug traffickers. The problem intensified in
1995. The President's 1995 National Drug Control Strategy
stated that "a stronger focus on source countries was
necessary," and the National Security Council "determined
that a controlled shift in emphasis was requireda shift
away from past efforts that focused primarily on
interdiction in the transit zone to new efforts that focus
on interdiction in and around source countries." President
Clinton issued Presidential Decision Directive 14 making
this determination official policy. But the policy has not
become reality. While funding was shifted from transit zone
interdiction, stripping the Coast Guard and others of
critical resources, there was no increase in funds for
source country programs. We lost critical transit zone
support and gained no new resources in the source
countries. Due to this shift in resources, we have seen the
Caribbean become an extremely active drug transit area. In
fact, Puerto Rico has probably paid as high a price as
anyone. Their murder rate has become higher than any state
over the past several years and ninety percent of all
violence on the island is believed to be drug related. Last
June this Subcommittee conducted a field hearing in San
Juan Harbor aboard a Coast Guard Cutter aptly named the
Courageous. At that hearing we heard from Governor Rossello
who clearly conveyed the message that his island is under
siege. Under his leadership Puerto Rico has fought back.
But, they cannot do it alone. They need our support.
Reduced attention by the President and weaker of funding is
a big part of the problem. In fiscal 1991, President Bush
committed $2 billion dollars to drug interdiction. By 1995
President Clinton had cut interdiction spending to $1.2
billion dollars. The President mothbailed Customs and other
aircraft, removed intelligence assets, and reduced the
number of Coast Guard cutters, ship days, flying hours and
personnel. In the last three years Congress restored some
of the much needed funding for transit zone and source zone
interdiction. But we are far from having the resources we
had when Admiral Yost led our efforts in the late 1980's.
For fiscal year 1998, the President has requested $1.6
billion for interdiction and just under $4 billion for the
Coast Guard. We will work to make that happen, but more
effort is needed. Finally, we need to discuss how effective
increased resources can be. A recently released report by
the Institute for Defense Analyses employed rigorous
mathematical modeling to quality and determined that a
properly planned, source zone interdiction strategy is
cost effective. Such a campaign increases cocaine prices,
and thereby reduces cocaine use in the United States. Based
on the success of a new operation called FRONTIER SHIELD,
which Admiral Kramek will outline today, and the results of
the IDA study, we now need to reassess our funding
structure for interdiction and how important this part of
the drug war is. I hope that today's hearing will serve
as a cornerstone of this Subcommittee's efforts over the
next two years. Thank you. END