[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4999-S5000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION POLICY ON DRUG SMUGGLERS
Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, after reading a May 13 report in the Los
Angeles Times, I wrote to Attorney General Reno expressing my shock at
reports that Clinton administration officials are letting drug
smugglers go free as a matter of official policy.
Although I have not yet heard back from Attorney General Reno, this
is a disturbing matter that requires action now. Drug use among our
children is on the rise and is contributing to the rise in juvenile
crime.
Therefore, tomorrow I plan to offer a sense-of-the-Senate resolution
calling on Attorney General Reno to investigate this matter and report
back to Congress in 30 days, and calling on the Attorney General to
ensure that any policy that allows drug smugglers to go free is stopped
and that all such persons be vigorously prosecuted.
Mr. President, the Clinton administration has been indifferent, at
best, to the war on drugs right from the beginning when President
Clinton largely dismantled the drug czar's office. I hope my colleagues
will join me in sending a strong message that, for the sake of our
children today and tomorrow, we believe we must aggressively put these
drug smugglers--who are nothing more than merchants of death--where
they belong, behind bars.
I will point out a few statistics. These are not Senator Dole's
facts. These are facts given to us by people who are experts in the
area. The number of young people between 12 and 17 using marijuana has
increased from 1.6 million in 1992 to 2.9 million in 1994. That has
probably increased a lot more since the end of 1994. And the category
of ``recent marijuana use'' has increased a staggering 200 percent
among 14- to 15-year-olds. About one in three high school students uses
marijuana, and 12- to 17-year-olds who use marijuana are 85 percent
more likely to graduate to cocaine than those who abstain from
marijuana. Juveniles who reach age 21 without ever having used drugs
almost never try them later in life. If you make the first 21 years
[[Page S5000]]
without using drugs, then you are probably not going to be addicted.
The latest results from the Drug Abuse Warning Network shows that
marijuana-related episodes jumped 39 percent and are running at 155
percent above the 1990 level. Another frightening figure is that
between February 1993 and February 1995, the retail price of a gram of
cocaine fell from $172 to $137 and a gram of heroin also fell from
$2,032 to $1,278, which means it is going to be more accessible and
readily available because it costs less. The number of defendants
prosecuted for violations of the Federal drug laws has dropped from
25,033 in 1992 to 22,926 in 1995.
So it seems to me that we have a very serious problem on our hands.
It is not a partisan issue. It is not politics at all, as far as I
know. So I hope my colleagues will have an opportunity here.
I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and the letter I sent
Attorney General Reno be printed in the Record, which I send to the
desk.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Sense-of-the-Senate Resolution on the Administration's Practice
Regarding the Prosecution of Drug Smugglers
Whereas, drugs use is devastating to the nation,
particularly among juveniles, and has led juveniles to become
involved in interstate gangs and to participate in violent
crime;
Whereas, drug use has experienced a dramatic resurgence
among our youth;
Whereas, the number of youths aged 12-17 using marijuana
has increased from 1.6 million in 1992 to 2.9 million in
1994, and the category of ``recent marijuana use'' increased
a staggering 200% among 14- to 15-year-olds over the same
period;
Whereas, since 1992, there has been a 52% jump in the
number of high school seniors using drugs on a monthly basis,
even as worrisome declines are noted in peer disapproval of
drug use;
Whereas, 1 in 3 high school students use marijuana;
Whereas, 12- to 17-year-olds who use marijuana are 85% more
likely to graduate to cocaine than those who abstain from
marijuana;
Whereas, juveniles who reach 21 without ever having used
drugs almost never try them later in life;
Whereas, the latest results from the Drug Abuse Warning
Network show that marijuana-related episodes jumped 39% and
are running at 155% above the 1990 level, and that
methamphetamine cases have risen 256% over the 1991 level;
Whereas, between February 1993 and February 1995 the retail
price of a gram of cocaine fell from $172 to $137, and that
of a gram of heroin also fell from $2,032 to $1,278;
Whereas, it has been reported that the Department of
Justice, through the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of California, has adopted a policy of allowing
certain foreign drug smugglers to avoid prosecution
altogether by being released to Mexico;
Whereas, it has been reported that in the past year
approximately 2,300 suspected narcotics traffickers were
taken into custody for bringing illegal drugs across the
border, but approximately one in four were returned to their
country of origin without being prosecuted;
Whereas, it has been reported that the U.S. Customs Service
is operating under guidelines limiting any prosecution in
marijuana cases to involving 125 pounds of marijuana or more;
Whereas, it has been reported that suspects possessing as
much as 32 pounds of methamphetamine and 37,000 Quaalude
tablets, were not prosecuted but were, instead, allowed to
return to their countries of origin after their drugs and
vehicles were confiscated;
Whereas, it has been reported that after a seizure of 158
pounds of cocaine, one defendant was cited and released
because there was no room at the federal jail and charges
against her were dropped;
Whereas, it has been reported that some smugglers have been
caught two or more times--even in the same week--yet still
were not prosecuted;
Whereas, the number of defendants prosecuted for violations
of the federal drug laws has dropped from 25,033 in 1992 to
22,926 in 1995;
Whereas, the efforts of law enforcement officers deployed
against drug smugglers are severely undermined by
insufficiently vigorous prosecution policies of federal
prosecutors;
Whereas, this Congress has increased the funding of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons by 11.7% over the 1995
appropriations level;
Whereas, this Congress has increased the funding of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service by 23.5% over the 1995
appropriations level: Therefore be it
Resolved, That it is the Sense of the Senate that the
Attorney General promptly should investigate this matter and
report, within 30 days, to the Chair of the Senate and House
Committees on the Judiciary;
That the Attorney General should change the policy of the
United States Attorney for the Southern District of
California in order to ensure that cases involving the
smuggling of drugs into the United States are vigorously
prosecuted; and
That the Attorney General should direct all United States
Attorneys vigorously to prosecute persons involved in the
importation of illegal drugs into the United States.
____
U.S. Senate,
Office of the Republican Leader,
Washington, DC, May 13, 1996.
Hon. Janet Reno,
U.S. Department of Justice, 10th Street and Constitution
Ave., NW., Washington, DC.
Dear Attorney General Reno: I am writing to request your
response to a disturbing Los Angeles Times story (``Drug
Runners Arrested at Border Often Go Free,'' May 13, 1996)
that suggests that U.S. Attorney Alan Bersin has adopted an
official policy allowing some drug smugglers to return to
Mexico without prosecution.
According to the Times article, officials at the U.S.
Attorney's office ``confirm that under a program quietly
adopted two years ago, an increasing number of suspected
traffickers have been sent back to Mexico without arrest or
prosecution in either federal or state court'' and ``more
than 1,000 smuggling suspects have been processed in this way
since 1994.'' More specifically, the Times article reports
that:
Two suspects with 32 pounds of methamphetamine, and another
with 37,000 Quaalude tablets, were simply ``excluded'' from
the United States after their drugs and vehicles were
confiscated.
After a seizure of 158 pounds of cocaine, one defendant was
cited and released because there was no room at the federal
jail and the charges against her were dropped.
U.S. Customs Service records show that some drug smugglers
have been apprehended two or more times--even in the same
week--and have not been jailed or prosecuted.
No prosecutorial action has been taken against a number of
drug smugglers captured with more than 125 pounds of
marijuana.
According to one Drug Enforcement Administration agent
cited in the article, ``there is virtually no risk [to
smugglers] as long as they keep quantities down. First of
all, the chances of getting caught are slim, and the chances
of prosecution are almost zero if you get caught with a small
quantity and if you're a Mexican national.''
Attorney General Reno, my questions to you are simple ones:
Is the Los Angeles Times story accurate? And if so, do the
policies of the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles
represent the policies of the Justice Department and the
Clinton Administration?
With teenage drug use on the rise here in the United States
and with the ascendancy of Mexico as a major U.S. supplier of
cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine, the American people
would rightfully expect that we would be hard at work
strengthening our fight against the Mexican drug trade, not
weakening it, as the Los Angeles Times story suggests.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important
matter. I have attached a copy of the full Los Angeles Times
article for your review.
Sincerely,
Bob Dole,
Senate Majority Leader.
Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
____________________