[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.

                          ____________________