Risa
First Congressional District of New Mexico
GO

Home

About Heather

District Profile

Constituent Services

News Center

Issues

E-News

Student Corner

Contact Heather

White Line Space
Default Image
Bottom Shadow
Left Space Hot Topics Left Space
Hot Topics Lines Welcome Home Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Economic Stimulus Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Social Security Debit Cards Hot Topics Lines

 

Left Space
Contact
Left Space


ask.heather@mail.house.gov

In Washington DC
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, DC
20515
202-225-6316 Phone
202-225-4975 Fax
In Albuquerque
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM
87102
505-346-6781 Phone
505-346-6723 Fax

White Line Space
Zanios Food
White Line Space
E-news Submit Button
Printer Friendly
White Line Space

Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico


Postcard
space
March 21, 2006
 
Cherry Blossoms Ready to Bloom in the Nation`s Capital
The blossoms announce spring each year around late March or early April. Read more about them at this week`s Fun Fact.

P.S. ... and about Meth


Dear Friends,

Having been in the Congress for almost 8 years now, I`ve gained enough seniority to serve on a handful of conference committees -- the negotiating teams from the House and the Senate that iron out differences between House and Senate versions of bills before sending them to the President. What I`ve learned from that experience is that there are no rules for them and every one is different.

Sometimes, Conference Committees become the vehicles for getting things done that otherwise would take a much longer time. I was able to help make that happen recently on a problem plaguing our communities -- methamphetamine.

When the President signed the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, it included a widely supported bill we added on in Conference Committee to stem the use and sale of meth. We just included an additional title in the bill that included the substance of both the Methamphetamine Epidemic Elimination Act (H.R. 3889) and the Combat Meth Act of 2005 (H.R. 314). It`s like adding a P.S. at the end of a letter.

Meth is "cooked" using household chemicals and large quantities of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine.

This new law requires that cold medicines used to make it be kept in locked cabinets or behind the counter in stores. It also requires people to show an ID and sign a log book when they buy it. It lowers the amount of pseudoephedrine that can be purchased in a day from 9 grams to 3.6 grams. The legislation also strengthens reporting requirements for importing pseudoephedrine.

The legislation toughens federal penalties for drug traffickers and smugglers, and penalties for cooking or dealing the drug in the presence of children. Law enforcement statistics show that more than 30 percent of the time, children are at the scene of a meth bust.

The law also provides for local and state grants for "hot spots" on the front lines of the effort against meth. New Mexico is a battleground state in the efforts against methamphetamine, which plagues rural areas, and is prevalent in the four corners region of the West.

I`m glad we got this one done.

Good to be home,

space



Privacy Statement
| Toolbox | Hablas Español?