[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 116 (Thursday, August 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1454-E1455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DRUG TESTING REDUCES CRIME RATES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY II

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 1, 1996

  Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I want to inform my 
colleagues on a legislative initiative which would assist in the effort 
to combat drug use and drug-related crime.
  Thanks to the hard work and assistance of Subcommittee Chairman Hal 
Rogers, $32 million in funds are included in the House version of the 
fiscal year 1997 Commerce-Justice-State appropriations measure to allow 
for the establishment of drug testing programs for prisoners, parolees, 
and individuals on bail or probation. The bill provides $7 million to 
establish a Federal drug testing program in the Federal prison system 
and $25 million to establish a competitive grant process to allow local 
jurisdictions the ability to drug test individuals in the local prison 
system.
  Although various efforts have been initiated to address drug use and 
abuse in the United States, these efforts have not been completely 
successful. Regardless of the billions and billions of Federal and 
State funds dedicated to fighting an effective ``war on drugs,'' 
reality still dictates that a small percentage of heavy drug users are 
responsible for most drug use and most drug-related crime in the United 
States. In spite of our efforts, the number of heavy users has remained 
constant in recent years.
  We can, and must, do better in the effort to fight drug use and 
abuse.
  Prof. Mark A. Kleiman, lecturer in Public Policy at the John F. 
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, recently analyzed 
Federal and State criminal data and reported that of the roughly 300 
metric tons of cocaine illegally consumed in the United States every 
year, about 60 percent, or 180 metric tons, is consumed by people under 
the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system, individuals who are 
either on bail, probation, or parole.
  In 1991, the Federal Department of Justice developed and implemented 
a test pilot program in which the Federal court system would require a 
drug test for those arrested while those released from jail or prison 
would be asked to submit for a drug test. Drug testing and sanctions 
would force drug-involved offenders to abstain from further illicit 
drug use or face the consequences. Those consequences would include no 
bail or probation. In short, it is a ``carrot and stick'' approach to 
staying drug free.
  Currently 14 Federal judicial districts require such drug testing, 
and in December 1995 President Clinton issued a directive to the 
Attorney General to ``establish a program whereby federal prosecutors 
will seek appropriate

[[Page E1455]]

measures for arrestees who fail pre-trial drug tests'' and ``encourage 
States to adopt and implement the same policies . . .''
  The Justice Department found that pre-trial and post-trial drug 
testing in the criminal justice system has ``the potential for far-
reaching impact as a demand-reduction program, a supply reduction 
program (because it removes some retail dealers), and a crime-control 
program.'' This initiative in turn affects both property crime by 
users, and violence that is related to the drug traffickers by 
shrinking volume.
  Advocates of this initiative assert that using the criminal justice 
system to reduce drug demand will accomplish more than any other level 
of drug law enforcement to break up open drug markets: a national 
program could reasonably be expected to reduce effective cocaine and 
heroin demand by 40 percent. Reduced demand means less revenue for drug 
dealers, which in turn means fewer guns, fewer shootings, less 
distribution of neighborhood life, and fewer kids lured out of school 
or legitimate work into the flashy, but eventually disastrous, life of 
retail drug selling. Thus, this legislation would benefit all aspects 
of the community.
  In the 1997 budget request, the Clinton administration is requesting 
$42 million in grants to States to give drug tests to individuals in 
the criminal justice system. This initiative is modeled after the 
successful federal program.
  I support the funds currently in the Commerce-Justice-State 
appropriations measure, and I intend to work with may colleagues to 
ensure that these funds are included in the final House-Senate 
conference agreement.

                          ____________________