U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

September 16, 2005

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Press Secretary

                        202-228-3630

Jen Clanahan – Deputy Press Secretary

                        303-455-7600

 

Update: Sen. Salazar’s Anti-Meth Bills Pass Full Senate As Part Of CJS Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – Law enforcement around Colorado and the Nation came one step closer to acquiring two powerful tools in the fight against methamphetamine yesterday when the Senate passed the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Act (H.R. 2862). The Act passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 91-4.

Included in the final version of the CJS Act were two important anti-meth provisions championed by Senator Ken Salazar:

  1. Sen. Salazar’s proposal for a first-of-its-kind Methamphetamine Task Force within the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The DEA would be required to create a Methamphetamine Task Force within six months of the President’s signature. The Task Force would be “responsible for improving and targeting the Federal Government’s policies with respect to the production and trafficking of methamphetamine.”
  2. The Combat Meth Act, of which Sen. Salazar is an original co-sponsor, will assist rural law enforcement agencies in combating methamphetamine related crimes in two ways:
         · limiting the sale of pseudoephedrine, the primary ingredient used to make methamphetamine, and
         · providing much needed additional resources to help local law enforcement fight
           methamphetamine.

“Meth has been attacking our communities and families for too long, especially in rural areas. Now, law enforcement officials are one step closer to an expanded arsenal to keep meth off our streets and the criminals who peddle it behind bars,” Sen. Salazar said.

Having been passed by the Senate, H.R. 2862 will now proceed to conference committee to iron out differences between House and Senate versions before being voted upon a second time by both the House and Senate. If the House and Senate both approve the conference report, it will go on to the President’s desk for signature or veto.


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