[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2315 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2315

    To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a federally-
   supported education and awareness campaign for the prevention of 
                          methamphetamine use.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2006

   Mr. Burns introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a federally-
   supported education and awareness campaign for the prevention of 
                          methamphetamine use.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Methamphetamine Awareness and 
Prevention Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Methamphetamine addiction is a growing epidemic in the 
        United States.
            (2) Existing programs within the Federal Government do not 
        specifically target methamphetamine use in an effective manner, 
        considering the widespread use of the drug.
            (3) The existing drug policy of the Federal Government 
        focuses on the impact of marijuana as a gateway drug rather 
        than methamphetamine.
            (4) Methamphetamine use impacts a variety of Federal and 
        State services, from child welfare to addiction, treatment, and 
        housing costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year.
            (5) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
        Administration found in 2004 that 1,400,000 persons ages 12 and 
        older used methamphetamine in the past year.
            (6) Precursor chemicals for the production of 
        methamphetamine vary widely and are easily accessible across 
        the United States.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to prevent the spread 
of methamphetamine through the establishment of a competitive grant 
program to identify successful methamphetamine education and awareness 
campaigns.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

    Part A of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 506C. METHAMPHETAMINE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION.

    ``(a) Office.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established within the 
        Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration an 
        office to be known as the Methamphetamine Awareness and 
        Prevention Office. The Office shall be headed by a director to 
        be appointed by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Duties.--In addition to other activities determined 
        appropriate by the Secretary to reduce the use of 
        methamphetamines, the director of the Office shall administer 
        the grant program established under subsection (b).
    ``(b) Grant Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The director of the Office shall 
        establish a program to award competitive grants to eligible 
        entities for the establishment and implementation of successful 
        methamphetamine education and awareness campaigns to reduce the 
        spread of methamphetamine use.
            ``(2) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
        subsection an entity shall--
                    ``(A) be a State or local government or a private 
                nonprofit organization;
                    ``(B) submit to the director of the Office an 
                application in accordance with paragraph (3)(C); and
                    ``(C) provide assurances that the entity will 
                contribute non-Federal funds towards the costs of 
                carrying out activities under the grant in an amount 
                equal to 100 percent of the amount received under the 
                grant.
            ``(3) Applications.--
                    ``(A) Process.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of enactment of this section, the director of the 
                Office shall solicit applications for grants under this 
                subsection. The director of the Office shall notify an 
                applicant in writing of the reasons why an applicant 
                has failed to be awarded such a grant.
                    ``(B) Evaluation of applications.--In determining 
                whether to award a grant to an applicant under this 
                subsection, the director of the Office shall--
                            ``(i) evaluate the scope of the education 
                        and awareness campaign to be conducted under 
                        the grant to ensure that the target audience is 
                        reached;
                            ``(ii) consider the duration of the 
                        education and awareness campaign involved and 
                        the expected positive impact at the State or 
                        local level;
                            ``(iii) consider the ability of the 
                        applicant to tailor the message to at-risk 
                        populations;
                            ``(iv) require a reduced match of 50 
                        percent with respect to applications from rural 
                        or underserved areas, such as Indian 
                        reservations, with little access to outside 
                        capital, and any other areas deemed eligible by 
                        the director of the Office; and
                            ``(v) consider the benefit of the 
                        applicant's program based on the criteria 
                        described in clauses (i) through (iv).
                    ``(C) Contents.--An application submitted under 
                paragraph (2)(B) shall contain--
                            ``(i) a description of the methamphetamine 
                        education and awareness campaign to be funded 
                        under the grant and how such campaign will 
                        significantly curb methamphetamine use, 
                        especially among those vulnerable to using 
                        methamphetamine for the first time;
                            ``(ii) a description of the significance of 
                        the methamphetamine problem in the area 
                        targeted by the applicant's campaign, which may 
                        include the use of statistics provided through 
                        the annual research of the Administration as 
                        well as any statistics collected by the 
                        Department of Justice, the Office of National 
                        Drug Control Policy, or any other State or 
                        local law enforcement agency determined useful 
                        by the Office to accurately identify the scope 
                        of the methamphetamine problem;
                            ``(iii) a description of the size and 
                        characteristics of the target audience 
                        (including a focus on pre-teen and teenage 
                        populations and populations that are 
                        historically vulnerable to first-time use) and 
                        the most effective means to reach such audience 
                        as determined through the conduct of a thorough 
                        review by the applicant prior to the submission 
                        of the application;
                            ``(iv) a detailed budget or spending plan 
                        for use of grant funds;
                            ``(v) evidence to demonstrate positive 
                        outcomes of the campaign; and
                            ``(vi) any other information determined 
                        appropriate by the director of the Office.
            ``(4) Limitation.--An entity may receive not more than one 
        grant in each fiscal year under this subsection. Each such 
        grant shall not exceed $5,000,000.
            ``(5) Submission of impact reports.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the exhaustion of each grant period, the grant recipient 
        shall submit to the director of the Office a report on the 
        impact of the education and awareness campaign carried out 
        under the grant. Each such report shall include quantitative 
        data to demonstrate, with respect to the campaign, the size of 
        the audience reached, the impact of the campaign, and the 
        reaction to the campaign from the State or local area involved. 
        The director of the Office shall use such impact reports in any 
        subsequent determinations with respect to grant awards.
    ``(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the end of 
the first and each subsequent grant cycle under this section, the 
director of the Office shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report that contains a summary of grant awards under 
subsection (b) and the impact of such grants on communities throughout 
the United States. Information contained in the report may be shared 
among all interested Federal and State entities for use to coordinate 
effective methamphetamine prevention activities.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Education and awareness campaign.--The term 
        `education and awareness campaign' means a coordinated effort 
        to reduce methamphetamine use through the use of any media, 
        print, radio, television, Internet-based or any other mode of 
        communication to convey messages to an audience.
            ``(2) Grant cycle.--The term `grant cycle' means the length 
        of time from the date on which a grant is awarded under this 
        section until the date on which such grant is expended.
            ``(3) Office.--The term `Office' means the Methamphetamine 
        Awareness and Prevention Office.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $25,250,000 for fiscal year 
2006. Of the amount appropriated for such fiscal year, $250,000 shall 
be made available for the activities of the Office, and $25,000,000 
shall be made available for grants under subsection (b).''.
                                 <all>