[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2134 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2134

      To establish the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2009

   Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Mack, Mr. Berman, Mrs. Bono Mack, Mr. 
    Delahunt, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Wexler, and Mr. Pierluisi) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary and 
Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To establish the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission.

    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 ``Western Hemisphere Drug Policy 
Commission Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) While the United States accounts for approximately 5 
        percent of world population, in 2007, an estimated 17.2 percent 
        of the world's users of illegal drugs were from the United 
        States.
            (2) 100 percent of the United States cocaine supply and 90 
        percent of the United States heroin supply originates in the 
        Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.
            (3) In those source countries, the cultivation, production 
        and trafficking of cocaine and heroin generate violence, 
        instability and corruption.
            (4) In the transit countries of Central America, Mexico, 
        Ecuador, Haiti and other Caribbean nations, drug trafficking is 
        central to the growing strength of organized criminal gangs 
        that threaten local and national law enforcement, political 
        institutions and citizen security.
            (5) Organized criminal cartels in Mexico are engaged in a 
        civil conflict with each other and a conflict with Mexican 
        counterdrug security forces. These cartels control the 
        wholesale of virtually all cocaine trafficked into major urban 
        areas in the United States.
            (6) Drug-related violence is on the rise in Mexico and 
        along the United States-Mexico border. 5,661 people died in 
        Mexico in 2008 alone as a result of drug-related violence. This 
        is more than double the 2007 total of 2,773.
            (7) From 1980-2008, United States counternarcotics 
        assistance from the State and Defense Departments to Latin 
        America and the Caribbean totaled about $11,300,000,000. The 
        Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has spent an additional 
        $2,500,000,000 in the Western Hemisphere during the same 
        period. In those same years, the number of lifetime drug users 
        has steadily risen for marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. In 1982 
        there were an estimated 53,000 marijuana users, which doubled 
        to over 100,000 in 2007. Similarly, there were fewer than 
        22,000 cocaine users and fewer than 2,000 heroin users in 1982, 
        while today there are approximately 36,000 and 3,800, 
        respectively.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG POLICY COMMISSION.

    There is established an independent commission to be known as the 
``Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission'' (in this Act referred to 
as the ``Commission'').

SEC. 4. PURPOSE.

    The Commission shall review and evaluate United States illicit drug 
supply policy, with particular emphasis on international drug policies 
and programs directed toward the countries of the Western Hemisphere 
and demand reduction policies and programs. The Commission shall 
identify policy and program options to improve existing international 
and domestic counternarcotics policy.

SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Review of Illicit Drug Supply Reduction and Demand Reduction 
Policies.--The Commission shall conduct a comprehensive review of 
United States illicit drug supply reduction and demand reduction 
policies and shall, at a minimum, address the following topics:
            (1) An assessment of the effectiveness of United States 
        international illicit drug control policies in the Western 
        Hemisphere, including interdiction, crop eradication, and 
        alternative development.
            (2) The impact of Plan Colombia and the Merida Initiative 
        in curbing drug trafficking and drug-related violence in the 
        Andean region, Mexico, Central America, Haiti, and the 
        Dominican Republic.
            (3) An assessment of how to better use available technology 
        to target major drug cartels.
            (4) The impact of the United States drug certification 
        process in achieving positive results with respect to reducing 
        drug production, cultivation, and trafficking.
            (5) An assessment of the nature and extent of the United 
        States demand for illicit drugs.
            (6) An assessment of United States drug prevention and 
        treatment programs, including drug courts and programs aimed at 
        preventing recidivism.
            (7) An assessment of the extent to which the consumption of 
        illicit drugs in the United States is driven by individuals 
        addicted to or abusive of illicit drugs, and the most effective 
        experiences in the United States and throughout the world in 
        treating those addicts.
            (8) Recommendations on how best to improve United States 
        illicit drug supply and demand reduction policies.
    (b) Coordination With Governments, International Organizations, and 
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in the Western Hemisphere.--The 
Commission shall consult with--
            (1) government and nongovernmental leaders, as well as 
        leaders from international organizations, from throughout Latin 
        America and the Caribbean; and
            (2) the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission 
        (CICAD) to examine what changes would increase its 
        effectiveness.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 12 months after the first 
        meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall submit to 
        Congress, the Secretary of State, and the Director of the 
        Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) a report that 
        contains a detailed statement of the recommendations, findings, 
        and conclusions of the Commission, including summaries of the 
        input and recommendations of the leaders and organizations with 
        which is consulted under subsection (b).
            (2) Public availability.--The report required under this 
        subsection shall be made available to the public.

SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP.

    (a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 
ten members, to be appointed as follows:
            (1) The majority leader and minority leader of the Senate 
        shall each appoint two members.
            (2) The Speaker and the minority leader of the House of 
        Representatives shall each appoint two members.
            (3) The President shall appoint two members.
    (b) Appointments.--The Commission may not include Members of 
Congress or other currently elected Federal, State, or local government 
officials.
    (c) Period of Appointment.--Each member shall be appointed for the 
life of the Commission. Any vacancies shall not affect the power and 
duties of the Commission, but shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment.
    (d) Date.--Members of the Commission shall be appointed not later 
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (e) Initial Meeting and Selection of Chairperson.--Not later than 
60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall hold an initial meeting to develop and implement a schedule for 
completion of the review and report required under section 5. At the 
initial meeting, the Commission shall select a Chairperson from among 
its members.
    (f) Quorum.--Six members of the Commission shall constitute a 
quorum.
    (g) Travel Expenses.--Members shall receive travel expenses, 
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 
5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their 
homes or regular places of business in performance of services for the 
Commission.

SEC. 7. POWERS.

    (a) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
Chairperson or a majority of its members.
    (b) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings and undertake 
such other activities as the Commission determines necessary to carry 
out its duties.
    (c) Other Resources.--The Commission shall have reasonable access 
to materials, resources, statistical data, and other such information 
the Commission determines necessary to carry out its duties from the 
Library of Congress, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the 
Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, the Department of Defense (including the United States 
Southern Command), and other agencies of the executive and legislative 
branches of the Federal Government. The Chairperson of the Commission 
shall make requests for such access in writing when necessary. The 
General Services Administration (GSA) shall make office space available 
for day-to-day Commission activities and for scheduled Commission 
meetings. Upon request, the Administrator of General Services shall 
provide, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative support as the 
Commission requests to fulfill its duties.
    (d) Authority To Use the United States Mails.--The Commission may 
use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same 
conditions as other departments and agencies of the United States.
    (e) Authority To Contract.--Subject to the Federal Property and 
Administrative Services Act of 1949, the Commission is authorized to 
enter into contracts with Federal and State agencies, private firms, 
institutions, and individuals for the conduct of activities necessary 
to the discharge of its duties and responsibilities. A contract, lease, 
or other legal agreement entered into by the Commission may not extend 
beyond the date of termination of the Commission.

SEC. 8. STAFF.

    (a) Executive Director.--The Commission shall have a staff headed 
by an Executive Director. The Executive Director and such staff as is 
needed shall be paid at a rate not more than the rate of pay for level 
IV of the Executive Schedule.
    (b) Staff Appointment.--With the approval of the Commission, the 
Executive Director may appoint such personnel as the Executive Director 
determines to be appropriate. The Commission may appoint and fix the 
compensation of such other personnel as may be necessary to enable the 
Commission to carry out its duties, without regard to the provisions of 
title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 
subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification 
and General Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under 
this subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable to a person 
occupying a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 
5316 of such title.
    (c) Experts and Consultants.--With the approval of the Commission, 
the Executive Director may procure temporary and intermittent services 
under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code.
    (d) Detail of Government Employees.--Upon the request of the 
Commission, the head of any Federal agency may detail, without 
reimbursement, any of the personnel of such agency to the Commission to 
assist in carrying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 
shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service status or 
privileges of the personnel.

SEC. 9. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.

    The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
to the Commission.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 
to carry out this Act.
    (b) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall remain available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended.

SEC. 11. SUNSET.

    The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission shall terminate 60 
days after the submission to Congress of its report under section 5(c).
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