[Congressional Bills 103th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Res. 452 Introduced in House (IH)] 103d CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 452 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should resume support of operations for the interdiction of illegal drug trafficking in Andean and other foreign nations. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 10, 1994 Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mr. Sensenbrenner) submitted the following resolution; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should resume support of operations for the interdiction of illegal drug trafficking in Andean and other foreign nations. Whereas illegal drugs are a serious problem in the United States, causing misery among users and their families, inspiring violent crime, and destroying the social fabric of the United States; Whereas the overwhelming bulk of illegal drugs, particularly cocaine, is imported into the United States from the Andean nations, and criminal drug lords in such nations are amassing great wealth extracted from the misery of Americans; Whereas the United States has long encouraged Andean nations to join in cooperative efforts to locate, interdict, and destroy illegal drug operations at their sources, and the United States has contributed to these efforts by providing United States aircraft, surveillance assets, intelligence, and other resources; Whereas the Department of Defense and other agencies of the United States have ceased to provide material assistance, based on legal memoranda and other advice issued by the Department of Justice interpreting, among other things, section 32(b) of title 18, United States Code, as barring such aid and subjecting whoever provides it to criminal prosecution; Whereas the House of Representatives believes that any interpretation of section 32(b) of such title that purports to extend the reach of such section to law enforcement operations and actions taken by agencies of the United States in support of such operations improperly construes the meaning of the plain language and the intent of the Congress in enacting such section; and Whereas the erroneous and unduly expansive interpretation of section 32(b) of such title adopted by the Department of Justice presents a serious obstacle to effective interdiction of illegal drugs at their principal sources, and also may be interpreted to hamper similar domestic operations affecting foreign registered civil aircraft: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that-- (1) the Department of Justice should repudiate its interpretation of section 32(b) of title 18, United States Code, to extend the reach of such section to law enforcement operations and actions taken by agencies of the United States; and (2) the Department of Defense and other departments and agencies of the United States should resume their former authorized practice of providing aid, information, and material support to locate, interdict, and prevent the operation of illegal drug producers and traffickers in the Andean nations, and wherever else such operations have been impeded by the erroneous interpretation of section 32(b) of such title. <all>