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Senate, House Leadership Praise Inclusion of Anti-Meth Legislation in USA Patriot Act
March 8, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Senate President Pro Tempore Ted Stevens (R-AK), Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) and Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) today held an enrollment ceremony for the USA Patriot Act.
At the ceremony, Senate and House leaders highlighted the inclusion of anti-methamphetamine provisions as part of the final USA Patriot Act conference report. Congressional leaders were joined by representatives from the Fraternal Order of Police who have voiced their support for the anti-meth legislation.
“Meth use is ravaging communities across America, and this legislation will make it more difficult for meth cooks to get the ingredients they need to make this poisonous drug,” said Frist. “Combating this growing problem will help save American lives and improve the quality of life for millions more. This is another example of the Republican-led Congress’ commitment to governing with meaningful solutions on the issues that matter most to Americans.”
“I am pleased to join together with my colleagues from both the Senate and the House as well as representatives from the Fraternal Order of Police to acknowledge this important legislation,” said Santorum. “According to the White House Office, methamphetamine is the primary illegal drug being manufactured in Pennsylvania. Most people think that that methamphetamine is a western United States issue; however investigations from my state and local law enforcement officials show that methamphetamine production is moving into Pennsylvania. For example, at a time when reports of methamphetamine laboratory incidents are decreasing nationally, the number of these incidents in Pennsylvania is going up. By making precursor materials harder to obtain and providing new tools for law enforcement, this bill will help communities to effectively address this growing problem."
"Ensuring our national security is one of House Republicans' top priorities, and the Patriot Act keeps that commitment. This legislation guarantees that our law enforcement can keep the tools they already have in place to root out and prosecute terrorists, and it renews important information sharing provisions between government agencies," said Hastert. "It has been a long journey. But today, we can say we got it done."
“Methamphetamines pose a grave danger to our young people,” said Stevens. “In 2004 alone, authorities shut down 66 meth labs in Alaska. This drug is easy and inexpensive to produce, and I am deeply concerned about its widespread presence in rural areas. The passage of the Patriot Act reauthorization, which included the most comprehensive anti-meth package ever introduced in Congress, was a major step forward. Those of us in Congress will continue to work together to ensure the tools to prevent meth abuse, treat those who are addicted, and prosecute those who produce and traffic this drug are available.”
“This is a major victory for people in neighborhoods across Missouri and the country who are threatened by meth,” said Talent, who sponsored the bipartisan Combat Meth Act with Senator Dianne Feinstein. “The impact of the Combat Meth Act will be immeasurable. We may never know just how many lives, families and communities will be spared the horrors of methamphetamine owing to this legislation. But we know that because of the steps we are taking, many Americans will never experience the addiction and destruction of this deadly drug. The Senate should take great satisfaction in this accomplishment, but we need to continue working in a bipartisan fashion to help those who are threatened by the meth epidemic.”
"As founder of the Senate Anti-Meth Caucus, I've been proud of our bipartisan efforts in the Senate to fight the meth epidemic,” said Burns. “Today we've given our law enforcement the tools they need to find, arrest, and prosecute the meth cooks and meth users terrorizing our neighborhoods. We need a sense of urgency in this country about meth, and the Combat Meth Act will greatly help us in this fight."
The key component of the Combat Meth Epidemic Act is establishing restrictions on the sale of medicines containing ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine. Medicines containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine (PPA) will be placed behind the counter. Purchasers will be limited to acquiring only enough medication containing meth ingredients as is necessary for legitimate medical use.
The methamphetamine provision is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police, National District Attorneys Association, National Attorneys General Association, National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, National Narcotics Officers’ Associations Coalition, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs Association, NAADAC - The Association for Addiction Professionals, Therapeutic Communities of America and Kids Hope United.
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