[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  DEALING WITH AMERICA'S DRUG PROBLEM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Towns] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about the Contract With 
America. As we look at the Contract With America, there is one thing 
that for some reason as I look at it and I examine it is left out. We 
have left out dealing with the drug problem. The drug problem is 
something that is not going to go away. We must address it.
  As we look at what is happening in many of our urban areas and we 
look in terms of our prisons, we find that many of the people who are 
in prison have been involved in drugs. But at the same time for some 
reason or another, we do not want to spend the kind of money that we 
need to spend to be able to address the drug problem.
  We have people who will come into our district offices seeking help, 
and we cannot provide help for them because there is no place for them 
to go because there are no funds available for them to be able to go 
and get treatment.
  I recognize that there is no one solution to the problem and that we 
need to have several types of treatment programs, but for some reason 
we have sort of ignored this problem.
  I know that some districts have a greater problem than others, but I 
think the time has come when we need to look at what is happening in 
the United States of America and that regardless of where you are in 
terms of your district, if you have the problem now, I think you need 
programs to begin to work with it. And for some reason you do not have 
it, I would like to say to you, ``It's coming. It's on its way to you 
right now.''
  I would hope that the people who do not have the problem would come 
and rally with the people who do have the problem to begin to come up 
with some solutions to the drug addiction problem.
  We are spending a lot of money on the back end that if we would 
address this problem on the front end, we would not have to spend the 
money on the back end.
  It costs a lot of money to keep a person in prison, when we could 
spend the money to be able to detoxify a person and to be able to 
assist them in terms of counseling and to hope to put them back on the 
road to work.
  We talk about welfare reform, we talk about health care reform, we 
talk about all the different types of reform, but at the same time we 
still do not spend the kind of time talking about dealing with the drug 
problem.
  The Speaker came up with an idea, and I must admit that I like the 
idea very, very much, that he is going to encourage Members from 
various districts to go and visit other districts. In other words, he 
is going to encourage people from the rural areas to go into the urban 
areas and to visit those areas. I think that is an excellent idea and I 
think that is one that should take place and should take place right 
away, because I think that there are some Members in the House that do 
not realize what is happening in some of the urban areas. That is the 
reason why that sometimes that when you feel that you need support, 
that you are not getting support, that they do not understand the 
problems you are having in those areas.
  I am hoping that people in the urban areas will go into the rural 
areas and take a look at what is happening there and be able to give 
the assistance that needs to be given in the rural areas.
  America is not the same. It is different in terms of its regions. The 
cost of living, when we talk about wages and we talk about increasing 
the minimum wage. Some people say, ``Well, it's not necessary.'' But 
then if you come from a high cost-of-living area, it is very necessary.
  I think that we have to sit down, take a look at where we are to 
begin to address some of these problems. I think that the best way to 
do it would be able to look at this drug problem and say, ``Well, let's 
face it, there is a region that has a serious problem. We're going to 
give them the necessary resources to be able to address the problem and 
to be able to help them to be able to work it through.'' Because if 
not, eventually they would have to incarcerate the person and it would 
cost a whole lot more.
  Recognizing that there is a dispute going on about the best possible 
treatment for addicts, I understand that. But I think that the 
treatment that the person will respond to is the kind of treatment that 
we should be able to get them into.
  Some people say the methadone maintenance program does not work. 
There are some people who have
 responded to the treatment of methadone maintenance, and if they have 
responded to it, I think we should work it out where we would have 
funds available to set up programs for people that could benefit from 
that particular treatment.

  Then I think the drug-free program, some people can benefit from 
that. I think that we should be able to set it up where they can go 
into that. Then if they need cyclaozine or whatever it is to be able to 
provide the kind of treatment they need, that we should be able to 
provide that care for them.
  I think the worst thing in the world that is happening now, that for 
an addict to walk into a facility and say, ``I would like to be 
treated,'' and then after you talk to them, you find out that a waiting 
list of a year, a year and a half, or 2 years.
  My goodness, what will happen to a person who has to wait to get 
treatment, to get care for 2 years? I think the time has come when we 
should roll up our sleeves and be able to provide the kind of necessary 
care for people that have those problems.

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