House Votes to Bolster a Drug-Trafficking Bill
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After a bitter fight involving some of Washington’s most powerful lobbying firms, Congress is dropping legal protections sought by international companies that feared becoming targets of new laws against drug traffickers. The House passed by voice vote today a classified bill authorizing intelligence programs for the fiscal year 2000 that contains a provision to prevent American companies from doing business with international companies or foreigners identified by the United States as major drug traffickers. Senate approval of the bill is expected. Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama and chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, had sought to modify the bill’s drug-trafficking provisions. His aides said he was trying to prevent overzealous officials from seizing the assets of legitimate companies linked to drug trafficking by scant evidence. But Mr. Shelby’s opponents won the argument. The bill, according to the unclassified version made available to the public, deletes the protections he sought for those companies and instead sets up an independent commission to evaluate the new law’s effects after a year. Documents circulated in Congress show that one of the lobbying firms involved in the debate was Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand, which employs two former Senate majority leaders: Bob Dole, the Kansas Republican, and George Mitchell, the Democrat from Maine. The firm was hired by Transportacion Maritima Mexicana, a major shipping company that has fought to clear its name after news accounts quoted United States intelligence reports tying it to the drug trade. More : query.nytimes.com |