Larsen Delivers Speech on Fight Against Methamphetamine

Larsen Delivers Speech on Fight Against Methamphetamine

02/13/06

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) addressed the National Network for Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities - commending the program's dedication to preventing kids from using drugs, particularly methamphetamine. The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program is the federal government's primary initiative to prevent drug abuse and violence in and around schools.

As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, Larsen highlighted the efforts of the Caucus and expressed his recent disappointment with the budget the president presented to Congress last week.

"The president's budget eliminates state grants for Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. Those are vital dollars that our local communities and schools need to educate our children about the dangers of meth use." said Larsen.

"As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, I believe the federal government needs to show the same amount of urgency and commitment to solving the meth problem in America that our state and local communities have demonstrated for years."

Larsen represents Washington's 2nd Congressional District.

[The text of the speech follows below]

Thank you, I'm Rick Larsen, Congressman from Washington's 2nd Congressional District. I represent an area that spans from just north of Seattle up to the Canadian border. Representing a northern border district creates unique issues, particularly with drug and border security. A large number of drugs come across the border - everything from BC bud, to ecstasy, to pseudoephedrine tablets used to cook meth. This poses a problem to the local communities who fight what is a federal fight with local resources.

As we all know, meth is a national problem. Many people are dedicated to securing their communities from the scourge of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs, not just in my district and in Washington state, but all across the country. Looking around this room, I see people who are dedicated to preventing drug use and to teaching our children why they should say no.

I want to thank all of you for the outstanding work that you do. It is so important that we have folks who are dedicated to preventing our kids from using drugs, particularly methamphetamine. The work that you do is significant and is the key to stopping the spread of meth use.

I can't say it enough - the federal government needs to show the same amount of urgency and commitment to solving the meth problem in America that our state and local communities have. As you all well know, meth has been fought well at the local and state levels with a grassroots, bottom-up approach. While that has proved successful due to the tireless work of the many prevention specialists, treatment experts, and law enforcement officers on the front lines, it can no longer be our only approach. We need top-down leadership on this issue. We need a coordinated, comprehensive federal strategy. We need direction from Congress and the President.

Since 2000, the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, or Meth Caucus for short, has been providing that leadership. I am a co-chair of the bipartisan Meth Caucus along with Ken Calvert from California, Len Boswell from Iowa, and Chris Cannon from Utah. We have been working to educate members of the House on the dangers that methamphetamine poses to our communities.

The Caucus was formed six years ago because there was a real lack of knowledge on the part of most members about what meth was and how it could devastate communities. It was also meant as an organized effort to lobby the administration and appropriators for more funds to fight meth. You have to remember that in 2000, methamphetamine was still thought of as a "west coast," regional drug. The Midwest was seeing its impact, but the attention from the rest of the country just wasn't there. We sought to change that perception and have really succeeded in raising awareness in Congress.

We started with four founding members in 2000. At the beginning of 2005 we were hovering at just over 100. We're now at 140 members and our ranks are growing every month. I ask everyone here today to ask your Member of Congress to join the Meth Caucus. We have a new website, which can be found through my office website. It has a complete membership list and lots of good facts on meth and links to other sites. With 140 members, we bring a lot to the table when it comes to trying to pass meth legislation and secure funding for meth-fighting programs. We want our membership to reflect meth as the national problem it is.

While there are many caucuses in Congress, what sets the Meth Caucus apart is how active we are. In 2005, we hosted several briefings for members focused on different issues related to prevention, treatment and law enforcement. We have many more planned for 2006. In fact, we have the National Association of Counties and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors coming in tomorrow to brief members and staff on the impact of meth on the public treatment system.

In addition to briefings, last September twenty-one members of the Meth Caucus met with seven federal agencies, including ONDCP, to discuss the need for a comprehensive federal policy on methamphetamine. That's been our biggest challenge - getting ONDCP and the administration to give meth the serious attention it deserves. We asked the administration to get organized and to come to us with one message about how to lead the country on the meth issue. While no agreements were made during the roundtable discussion, it was the first time all those agencies came together to meet with Members of Congress in a coordinated effort.

We've also been able to work with members like Marc's boss, Mark Souder, on developing first-ever comprehensive meth legislation. As Marc has already discussed, Chairman Souder worked with the Meth Caucus to develop a truly bipartisan piece of legislation to combat meth on multiple fronts. While we were able to get it passed in the House as part of the Patriot Act, it's passage in the Senate was slowed down because of issues unrelated to meth. We will get this bill done soon.

In 2006, we're looking to work more on the prevention and treatment side of meth eradication, as well as to continue our fight for more meth dollars, which seems to be a never-ending battle.

I'm very disappointed in the budget the president presented to Congress last week. It cuts and eliminates many law enforcement programs that help in the fight against meth. One such program is the Byrne-Justice Assistance Grants program, which is essential for regional drug taskforces to bust drug trafficking rings. The president has requested the elimination of this program, as he does every year. Congress funded it at 416 million dollars for fiscal year 2006, and at 634 million dollars in fiscal year 2005. The president might think federal dollars are better spent elsewhere, but the local law enforcement in my district tell me that without those federal dollars, their taskforces will shutdown. These are taskforces that have a local, state, and federal component. The message the administration seems to be giving is "we want law enforcement agencies to work together and bust drug trafficking rings that have a national impact, but with their own funds." The Community Oriented Policing Services program, or COPS, was started during the Clinton Administration to help local law enforcement hire more police officers. The president's budget requests a cut of 376 million dollars to COPS for fiscal year 2007. While Congress funded COPS at 478 million dollars for fiscal year 2006, this year's budget calls for only 102 million in 2007.

And it's not just law enforcement funding that's being cut. The budget cuts funding for prevention and eliminates state grants for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program. Like last year, the administration's budget significantly cuts Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities, down from 568 million dollars in 2006 to 266 million in 2007. It makes no sense to tie the hands of the people who are teaching our kids to turn away from drugs. If the federal government is serious about decreasing drug use in this country, then the last thing we should do is cut off the resources to do so. I don't need to tell those in this room what the loss of state grants means for prevention programs across the country. In fact, I should ask you to tell me what the budget means for the work you do.

This is a battle the Meth Caucus has fought the last several years and we'll do it again this year. It seems to be a pattern. The Administration makes a budget request that cuts or eliminates key meth-fighting programs. Then congressional appropriators include funding for those programs, but not as much as the year before. It's a cycle which has the unfortunate effect of making your job that much harder.

The work of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities is important and vital to beating meth. You can't just lock-up the meth problem and hope it will go away. You need to go out to the schools where the kids are and teach them why they should never use drugs. Give them a positive message and an alternative to drug use. Teach them how to walk away from drugs and how to say no to peer pressure. The phenomenal jobs you have done are a large part of the reason why we can point to reduced drug use by our kids.

I said it earlier and I'll say it again - the federal government needs to show the same amount of urgency and commitment to solving the meth problem in America that our state and local communities have. Yours is the example we should follow.

Thank you for inviting me to be here today, and thank you again for the work you do.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/wa02_larsen/PR_021306_Speech_Meth.html