{
  "id": "RL30532",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30532",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
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      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 104446,
      "date": "2001-04-16",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:24:57.447941",
      "title": "U.S. Army School of the Americas: Background and Congressional Concerns",
      "summary": "The School of the Americas was a U.S. Army training facility founded in 1946 largely for\nSpanish-speaking cadets and officers from Latin American nations. The School was located at Fort\nBenning, Georgia. Controversies developed in recent years concerning human rights abuses\ncommitted by School graduates, and there were several legislative attempts since 1993 to cut funding\nfor the School. The School was charged by  P.L. 100-180  (10 USC  4415) with the mission of\ndeveloping and conducting instruction for the armed forces of Latin America. The law stipulated\nthat the School would promote military professionalism, foster cooperation among the multinational\nmilitary forces in Latin America, and expand Latin American armed forces\u2019 knowledge of\nU.S.\ncustoms and traditions.\n \n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0According to critics, the School had abusive graduates who\nviolated human rights. They\nmaintained that soldiers who were chosen to attend were not properly screened, with the result that\nsome students and instructors attended the School even after being implicated in human rights\nviolations. In September 1996, concerns over the School intensified when DOD made available\nexcerpts from seven Spanish-language training manuals used at the School from 1982 until 1991.\nThe manuals discussed forms of coercion against insurgents, including execution and torture. \n \n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Supporters of the School contended that it had the potential to\nhelp bring about greater respect\nfor human rights in Latin America by providing human rights training to thousands of Latin\nAmerican military officials. Supporters maintained that those graduates who committed human\nrights violations did not commit the violence because of their training at Fort Benning, but rather in\nspite of it. They argued that only a small number out of a total of over 60,000 School graduates have\nbeen accused of human rights violations. Supporters also argued that most Latin American militaries\nnow support civilian democratic rule. \n \n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Congressional oversight of the School of the Americas increased\nsince 1993, essentially\nfocusing on human rights issues. Four House attempts to cut funding for the School were rejected\nin 1993, 1994, 1997, and 1998. In 1999, the House voted to cut funding for the School during\nconsideration of the FY2000 foreign aid appropriations bill,  H.R. 2606 . Ultimately,\nhowever, the conferees on the bill rejected the House position and continued funding for the School.\nIn November 1999, Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera proposed a plan to restructure and rename\nthe school, making it more academic and recruiting civilians from Latin American governments as\nwell as military students from the region. In October 2000, the FY2001 defense authorization bill,\n( H.R. 5408 ), contained language that was incorporated into the  H.R. 4205 \nconference report ( H.Rept. 106-945 ), which repealed the legislative authority for the School of the\nAmericas and replaced it with new authority for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security\nCooperation along the lines of Secretary Caldera\u2019s 1999 proposal. Through enactment of\n H.R. 4205  into law on October 30, 2000, ( P.L. 106-398 ), the U.S. Army School of the\nAmericas ceased to exist. This report provides background on the former School and issues related\nto it. It will not be updated.",
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      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs1143/",
      "id": "RL30532 2000-08-02",
      "date": "2000-08-02",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T04:08:44",
      "title": "U.S. Army School of the Americas: Background and Congressional Concerns",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Defense policy",
          "name": "Defense policy"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Congressional oversight",
          "name": "Congressional oversight"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Military training camps",
          "name": "Military training camps"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Congress",
          "name": "Congress"
        }
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  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Intelligence and National Security"
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}