COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, WORLD NEWS: In South America, Colombia will have to wait longer than it expected to receive anti-drug aid from the United States. The U.S. administration was expecting Congress to pass a $1.3 billion aid package, but the bill is now stalled. CNN's David Ensor tells us why.</s>DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The war on drugs in Colombia is not going well, says the Clinton administration. Fumigation flights to eradicate coca plants have been scaled back or halted in key areas. Special Colombian army anti-drug units have yet to undertake any missions for lack of helicopters. Clinton administration officials say the problem is congressional delays, and they say the price of delay is high.</s>BARRY MCCAFFREY, U.S. DRUG POLICY DIRECTOR: Huge impact. We're grinding to a halt. The drug problem in Colombia is going up 20 percent a year. Production is up 520 metric tons. So right now, the spraying program, eradication by the Colombian police in danger, as well as the training of these counternarcotic battalions.</s>ENSOR: The problem is that when the House passed the emergency funding for Colombia's drug war, it attached billions of dollars worth of projects that congressmen wanted. (on camera): To avoid such pork-barrel politics, Senate Majority Leader Lott put the funds in the regular budget for next year. But now that budget is held up in an unrelated procedural pursuit. (voice-over): Lott has always said he favors the money for Colombia.</s>TRENT LOTT, U.S. SENATE LEADER: We're not looking for this to drag out into the fall or into next year.</s>ENSOR: But that was in March. Now, administration officials say the money for the war on drugs is unlikely to start flowing until at least midsummer. Meantime, officials say, guerrilla groups are greatly increasing their presence, guarding the coca cultivation areas where a bumper crop is growing. David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
Colombia Faces Delay In Anti-Drug Aid From The U.S. 