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| House Passes Wilson-Cosponsored Meth Programs |
December 14, 2005 |
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| Measures Strengthen Federal Involvement in Defeating Meth Scourge
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Heather Wilson, who served as a conferee on the Patriot Act conference report, today welcomed House passage 251-174 of tough new federal anti-meth measures within the Patriot Act.
Two anti-meth bills, both cosponsored by Congresswoman Wilson, were combined and included in the Patriot Act conference report. The bill included the substance of both the Methamphetamine Epidemic Elimination Act (H.R. 3889) and the Combat Meth Act of 2005 (H.R. 314), which strongly step up the federal effort to stem the use and sale of methamphetamine throughout the country. The bill allows New Mexico law enforcement to compete for grants to improve training, equipment and meth lab clean-up in drug hot spots.
“Unlike other illegal drugs which travel across our borders, we can’t stop meth by shutting down the border. Battling meth means controlling the availability of ingredients,” said Wilson. “We are strengthening federal policies to reduce the use and production of meth. This includes providing resources and tools for law enforcement, strengthening penalties, improving cleanup, creating a DEA task force and limiting access to ingredients for making meth.”
Marking the first federal effort to reduce meth production by restraining access to the ingredients, the legislation tightens access to key contents by requiring that cold medicines used to make it be kept in locked cabinets or behind the counter in stores, and requiring people to show ID and sign a log book when they buy it. It lowers the amount of pseudoephedrine that could be purchased in a day from 9 grams to 3.6 grams. Pseudoephedrine is a key ingredient in meth, which is made through a concoction of common household chemicals. The legislation also strengthens reporting requirements for importing pseudoephedrine.
The legislation toughens federal penalties against 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 bill 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.
On November 9, 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives also passed support for anti-meth and related enforcement efforts in the Commerce, Justice and State Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2862) by a vote of 397-19. That legislation, which awaits the Preisdent’s signature, includes $1.68 billion for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), establishment of a Methamphetamine Task Force within the DEA, $63.5 million in funds nationally for anti-meth initiatives and local grants, $20 million for DEA to assist State and local law enforcement with site clean up, technical assistance and purchase of equipment, and $478 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.
On Tuesday, the House also passed the Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act (H.R. 798), which establishes guidelines for assessing and cleaning up meth lab sites, and provides for research to improve efforts to restore contaminated areas. It will include development of reference materials and meth detection abilities through the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as improve the exchange of information through the National Academy of Sciences.
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