[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H3176-H3187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DRUG-FREE COMMUNITIES ACT OF 1997

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 956) to amend the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 
to establish a program to support and encourage local communities that 
first demonstrate a comprehensive, long-term commitment to reduce 
substance abuse among youth, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 956

       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 ``Drug-Free Communities Act of 
     1997''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The National Narcotics Leadership Act of 
     1988 (21 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by inserting between sections 1001 and 1002 the 
     following:

         ``CHAPTER 1--OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY'';

     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:

                   ``CHAPTER 2--DRUG-FREE COMMUNITIES

     ``SEC. 1021. FINDINGS.

       ``Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) Substance abuse among youth has more than doubled in 
     the 5-year period preceding 1996, with substantial increases 
     in the use of marijuana, inhalants, cocaine, methamphetamine, 
     LSD, and heroin.
       ``(2) The most dramatic increases in substance abuse has 
     occurred among 13- and 14-year-olds.
       ``(3) Casual or periodic substance abuse by youth today 
     will contribute to hard core or chronic substance abuse by 
     the next generation of adults.
       ``(4) Substance abuse is at the core of other problems, 
     such as rising violent teenage and violent gang crime, 
     increasing health care costs, HIV infections, teenage 
     pregnancy, high school dropouts, and lower economic 
     productivity.
       ``(5) Increases in substance abuse among youth are due in 
     large part to an erosion of understanding by youth of the 
     high risks associated with substance abuse, and to the 
     softening of peer norms against use.
       ``(6)(A) Substance abuse is a preventable behavior and a 
     treatable disease; and
       ``(B)(i) during the 13-year period beginning with 1979, 
     monthly use of illegal drugs among youth 12 to 17 years of 
     age declined by over 70 percent; and
       ``(ii) data suggests that if parents would simply talk to 
     their children regularly about the dangers of substance 
     abuse, use among youth could be expected to decline by as 
     much as 30 percent.
       ``(7) Community anti-drug coalitions throughout the United 
     States are successfully developing and implementing 
     comprehensive, long-term strategies to reduce substance abuse 
     among youth on a sustained basis.
       ``(8) Intergovernmental cooperation and coordination 
     through national, State, and local or tribal leadership and 
     partnerships are critical to facilitate the reduction of 
     substance abuse among youth in communities throughout the 
     United States.

     ``SEC. 1022. PURPOSES.

       ``The purposes of this chapter are--
       ``(1) to reduce substance abuse among youth in communities 
     throughout the United States, and over time, to reduce 
     substance abuse among adults;
       ``(2) to strengthen collaboration among communities, the 
     Federal Government, and State, local, and tribal governments;
       ``(3) to enhance intergovernmental cooperation and 
     coordination on the issue of substance abuse among youth;
       ``(4) to serve as a catalyst for increased citizen 
     participation and greater collaboration among all sectors and 
     organizations of a community that first demonstrates a long-
     term commitment to reducing substance abuse among youth;
       ``(5) to rechannel resources from the fiscal year 1998 
     Federal drug control budget to provide technical assistance, 
     guidance, and financial support to communities that 
     demonstrate a long-term commitment in reducing substance 
     abuse among youth;
       ``(6) to disseminate to communities timely information 
     regarding the state-of-the-art practices and initiatives that 
     have proven to be effective in reducing substance abuse among 
     youth;
       ``(7) to enhance, not supplant, local community initiatives 
     for reducing substance abuse among youth; and
       ``(8) to encourage the creation of and support for 
     community anti-drug coalitions throughout the United States.

     ``SEC. 1023. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this chapter:
       ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
     Administrator appointed by the Director under section 
     1031(c).
       ``(2) Advisory commission.--The term `Advisory Commission' 
     means the Advisory Commission established under section 1041.
       ``(3) Community.--The term `community' shall have the 
     meaning provided that term by the Administrator, in 
     consultation with the Advisory Commission.
       ``(4) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
     the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
       ``(5) Eligible coalition.--The term `eligible coalition' 
     means a coalition that meets the applicable criteria under 
     section 1032(a).
       ``(6) Grant recipient.--The term `grant recipient' means 
     the recipient of a grant award under section 1032.
       ``(7) Nonprofit organization.--The term `nonprofit 
     organization' means an organization described under section 
     501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt 
     from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986.
       ``(8) Program.--The term `Program' means the program 
     established under section 1031(a).
       ``(9) Substance abuse.--The term `substance abuse' means--
       ``(A) the illegal use or abuse of drugs, including 
     substances listed in schedules I through V of section 112 of 
     the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812);
       ``(B) the abuse of inhalants; or
       ``(C) the use of alcohol, tobacco, or other related product 
     as such use is prohibited by State or local law.
       ``(10) Youth.--The term `youth' shall have the meaning 
     provided that term by the Administrator, in consultation with 
     the Advisory Commission.

     ``SEC. 1024. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to carry out 
     this chapter--
       ``(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;
       ``(2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;
       ``(3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
       ``(4) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and
       ``(5) $43,500,000 for fiscal year 2002.
       ``(b) Administrative Costs.--Not more than the following 
     percentages of the amounts authorized under subsection (a) 
     may be used to pay administrative costs:
       ``(1) 10 percent for fiscal year 1998.
       ``(2) 6 percent for fiscal year 1999.
       ``(3) 4 percent for fiscal year 2000.
       ``(4) 3 percent for fiscal year 2001.
       ``(5) 3 percent for fiscal year 2002.

[[Page H3177]]

         ``Subchapter I--Drug-Free Communities Support Program

     ``SEC. 1031. ESTABLISHMENT OF DRUG-FREE COMMUNITIES SUPPORT 
                   PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish a 
     program to support communities in the development and 
     implementation of comprehensive, long-term plans and programs 
     to prevent and treat substance abuse among youth.
       ``(b) Program.--In carrying out the Program, the Director 
     shall--
       ``(1) make and track grants to grant recipients;
       ``(2) provide for technical assistance and training, data 
     collection, and dissemination of information on state-of-the-
     art practices that the Director determines to be effective in 
     reducing substance abuse; and
       ``(3) provide for the general administration of the 
     Program.
       ``(c) Administration.--Not later than 30 days after 
     receiving recommendations from the Advisory Commission under 
     section 1042(a)(1), the Director shall appoint an 
     Administrator to carry out the Program.
       ``(d) Contracting.--The Director may employ any necessary 
     staff and may enter into contracts or agreements with 
     national drug control agencies, including interagency 
     agreements to delegate authority for the execution of grants 
     and for such other activities necessary to carry out this 
     chapter.

     ``SEC. 1032. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.

       ``(a) Grant Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive an 
     initial grant or a renewal grant under this subchapter, a 
     coalition shall meet each of the following criteria:
       ``(1) Application.--The coalition shall submit an 
     application to the Administrator in accordance with section 
     1033(a)(2).
       ``(2) Major sector involvement.--
       ``(A) In general.--The coalition shall consist of 1 or more 
     representatives of each of the following categories:
       ``(i) Youth.
       ``(ii) Parents.
       ``(iii) Businesses.
       ``(iv) The media.
       ``(v) Schools.
       ``(vi) Organizations serving youth.
       ``(vii) Law enforcement.
       ``(viii) Religious or fraternal organizations.
       ``(ix) Civic and volunteer groups.
       ``(x) Health care professionals.
       ``(xi) State, local, or tribal governmental agencies with 
     expertise in the field of substance abuse (including, if 
     applicable, the State authority with primary authority for 
     substance abuse).
       ``(xii) Other organizations involved in reducing substance 
     abuse.
       ``(B) Elected officials.--If feasible, in addition to 
     representatives from the categories listed in subparagraph 
     (A), the coalition shall have an elected official (or a 
     representative of an elected official) from--
       ``(i) the Federal Government; and
       ``(ii) the government of the appropriate State and 
     political subdivision thereof or the governing body or an 
     Indian tribe (as that term is defined in section 4(e) of the 
     Indian Self-Determination Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e))).
       ``(C) Representation.--An individual who is a member of the 
     coalition may serve on the coalition as a representative of 
     not more than 1 category listed under subparagraph (A).
       ``(3) Commitment.--The coalition shall demonstrate, to the 
     satisfaction of the Administrator--
       ``(A) that the representatives of the coalition have worked 
     together on substance abuse reduction initiatives, which, at 
     a minimum, includes initiatives that target drugs referenced 
     in section 1023(9)(A), for a period of not less than 6 
     months, acting through entities such as task forces, 
     subcommittees, or community boards; and
       ``(B) substantial participation from volunteer leaders in 
     the community involved (especially in cooperation with 
     individuals involved with youth such as parents, teachers, 
     coaches, youth workers, and members of the clergy).
       ``(4) Mission and strategies.--The coalition shall, with 
     respect to the community involved--
       ``(A) have as its principal mission the reduction of 
     substance abuse, which, at a minimum, includes the use and 
     abuse of drugs referenced in section 1023(9)(A), in a 
     comprehensive and long-term manner, with a primary focus on 
     youth in the community;
       ``(B) describe and document the nature and extent of the 
     substance abuse problem, which, at a minimum, includes the 
     use and abuse of drugs referenced in section 1023(9)(A), in 
     the community;
       ``(C)(i) provide a description of substance abuse 
     prevention and treatment programs and activities, which, at a 
     minimum, includes programs and activities relating to the use 
     and abuse of drugs referenced in section 1023(9)(A), in 
     existence at the time of the grant application; and
       ``(ii) identify substance abuse programs and service gaps, 
     which, at a minimum, includes programs and gaps relating to 
     the use and abuse of drugs referenced in section 1023(9)(A), 
     in the community;
       ``(D) develop a strategic plan to reduce substance abuse 
     among youth, which, at a minimum, includes the use and abuse 
     of drugs referenced in section 1023(9)(A), in a comprehensive 
     and long-term fashion; and
       ``(E) work to develop a consensus regarding the priorities 
     of the community to combat substance abuse among youth, 
     which, at a minimum, includes the use and abuse of drugs 
     referenced in section 1023(9)(A).
       ``(5) Sustainability.--The coalition shall demonstrate that 
     the coalition is an ongoing concern by demonstrating that the 
     coalition--
       ``(A) is--
       ``(i)(I) a nonprofit organization; or
       ``(II) an entity that the Administrator determines to be 
     appropriate; or
       ``(ii) part of, or is associated with, an established legal 
     entity;
       ``(B) receives financial support (including, in the 
     discretion of the Administrator, in-kind contributions) from 
     non-Federal sources; and
       ``(C) has a strategy to solicit substantial financial 
     support from non-Federal sources to ensure that the coalition 
     and the programs operated by the coalition are self-
     sustaining.
       ``(6) Accountability.--The coalition shall--
       ``(A) establish a system to measure and report outcomes--
       ``(i) consistent with common indicators and evaluation 
     protocols established by the Administrator; and
       ``(ii) approved by the Administrator;
        ``(B) conduct--
       ``(i) for an initial grant under this subchapter, an 
     initial benchmark survey of drug use among youth (or use 
     local surveys or performance measures available or accessible 
     in the community at the time of the grant application); and
       ``(ii) biennial surveys (or incorporate local surveys in 
     existence at the time of the evaluation) to measure the 
     progress and effectiveness of the coalition; and
       ``(C) provide assurances that the entity conducting an 
     evaluation under this paragraph, or from which the coalition 
     receives information, has experience--
       ``(i) in gathering data related to substance abuse among 
     youth; or
       ``(ii) in evaluating the effectiveness of community anti-
     drug coalitions.
       ``(b) Grant Amounts.--
       ``(1) In general.--
       ``(A) Grants.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (iv), for a fiscal 
     year, the Administrator may grant to an eligible coalition 
     under this paragraph, an amount not to exceed the amount of 
     non-Federal funds raised by the coalition, including in-kind 
     contributions, for that fiscal year.
       ``(ii) Suspension of grants.--If such grant recipient fails 
     to continue to meet the criteria specified in subsection (a), 
     the Administrator may suspend the grant, after providing 
     written notice to the grant recipient and an opportunity to 
     appeal.
       ``(iii) Renewal grants.--Subject to clause (iv), the 
     Administrator may award a renewal grant to a grant recipient 
     under this subparagraph for each fiscal year following the 
     fiscal year for which an initial grant is awarded, in an 
     amount not to exceed the amount of non-Federal funds raised 
     by the coalition, including in-kind contributions, for that 
     fiscal year, during the 4-year period following the period of 
     the initial grant.
       ``(iv) Limitation.--The amount of a grant award under this 
     subparagraph may not exceed $100,000 for a fiscal year.
       ``(B) Coalition awards.--
       ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the 
     Administrator may, with respect to a community, make a grant 
     to 1 eligible coalition that represents that community.
       ``(ii) Exception.--The Administrator may make a grant to 
     more than 1 eligible coalition that represents a community 
     if--

       ``(I) the eligible coalitions demonstrate that the 
     coalitions are collaborating with one another; and
       ``(II) each of the coalitions has independently met the 
     requirements set forth in subsection (a).

       ``(2) Rural coalition grants.--
       ``(A) In general.--
       ``(i) In general.--In addition to awarding grants under 
     paragraph (1), to stimulate the development of coalitions in 
     sparsely populated and rural areas, the Administrator, in 
     consultation with the Advisory Commission, may award a grant 
     in accordance with this section to a coalition that 
     represents a county with a population that does not exceed 
     30,000 individuals. In awarding a grant under this paragraph, 
     the Administrator may waive any requirement under subsection 
     (a) if the Administrator considers that waiver to be 
     appropriate.
       ``(ii) Matching requirement.--Subject to subparagraph (C), 
     for a fiscal year, the Administrator may grant to an eligible 
     coalition under this paragraph, an amount not to exceed the 
     amount of non-Federal funds raised by the coalition, 
     including in-kind contributions, for that fiscal year.
       ``(iii) Suspension of grants.--If such grant recipient 
     fails to continue to meet any criteria specified in 
     subsection (a) that has not been waived by the Administrator 
     pursuant to clause (i), the Administrator may suspend the 
     grant, after providing written notice to the grant recipient 
     and an opportunity to appeal.
       ``(B) Renewal grants.--The Administrator may award a 
     renewal grant to an eligible coalition that is a grant 
     recipient under this paragraph for each fiscal year following 
     the fiscal year for which an initial grant is awarded, in an 
     amount not to exceed the amount of non-Federal funds raised 
     by the coalition, including in-kind contributions, during the 
     4-year period following the period of the initial grant.
       ``(C) Limitations.--

[[Page H3178]]

       ``(i) Amount.--The amount of a grant award under this 
     paragraph shall not exceed $100,000 for a fiscal year.
       ``(ii) Awards.--With respect to a county referred to in 
     subparagraph (A), the Administrator may award a grant under 
     this section to not more than 1 eligible coalition that 
     represents the county.

     ``SEC. 1033. INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION WITH 
                   RESPECT TO GRANT RECIPIENTS.

       ``(a) Coalition Information.--
       ``(1) General auditing authority.--For the purpose of audit 
     and examination, the Administrator--
       ``(A) shall have access to any books, documents, papers, 
     and records that are pertinent to any grant or grant renewal 
     request under this chapter; and
       ``(B) may periodically request information from a grant 
     recipient to ensure that the grant recipient meets the 
     applicable criteria under section 1032(a).
       ``(2) Application process.--The Administrator shall issue a 
     request for proposal regarding, with respect to the grants 
     awarded under section 1032, the application process, grant 
     renewal, and suspension or withholding of renewal grants. 
     Each application under this paragraph shall be in writing and 
     shall be subject to review by the Administrator.
       ``(3) Reporting.--The Administrator shall, to the maximum 
     extent practicable and in a manner consistent with applicable 
     law, minimize reporting requirements by a grant recipient and 
     expedite any application for a renewal grant made under this 
     subchapter.
       ``(b) Data Collection and Dissemination.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator may collect data 
     from--
       ``(A) national substance abuse organizations that work with 
     eligible coalitions, community anti-drug coalitions, 
     departments or agencies of the Federal Government, or State 
     or local governments and the governing bodies of Indian 
     tribes; and
       ``(B) any other entity or organization that carries out 
     activities that relate to the purposes of the Program.
       ``(2) Activities of administrator.--The Administrator may--
       ``(A) evaluate the utility of specific initiatives relating 
     to the purposes of the Program;
       ``(B) conduct an evaluation of the Program; and
       ``(C) disseminate information described in this subsection 
     to--
       ``(i) eligible coalitions and other substance abuse 
     organizations; and
       ``(ii) the general public.

     ``SEC. 1034. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.

       ``(a) In General.--
       ``(1) Technical assistance and agreements.--With respect to 
     any grant recipient or other organization, the Administrator 
     may--
       ``(A) offer technical assistance and training; and
       ``(B) enter into contracts and cooperative agreements.
       ``(2) Coordination of programs.--The Administrator may 
     facilitate the coordination of programs between a grant 
     recipient and other organizations and entities.
       ``(b) Training.--The Administrator may provide training to 
     any representative designated by a grant recipient in--
       ``(1) coalition building;
       ``(2) task force development;
       ``(3) mediation and facilitation, direct service, 
     assessment and evaluation; or
       ``(4) any other activity related to the purposes of the 
     Program.

                  ``Subchapter II--Advisory Commission

     ``SEC. 1041. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY COMMISSION.

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to 
     be known as the `Advisory Commission on Drug-Free 
     Communities'.
       ``(b) Purpose.--The Advisory Commission shall advise, 
     consult with, and make recommendations to the Director 
     concerning matters related to the activities carried out 
     under the Program.

     ``SEC. 1042. DUTIES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Advisory Commission--
       ``(1) shall, not later than 30 days after its first 
     meeting, make recommendations to the Director regarding the 
     selection of an Administrator;
       ``(2) may make recommendations to the Director regarding 
     any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement made by the 
     Program;
       ``(3) may make recommendations to the Director regarding 
     the activities of the Program;
       ``(4) may make recommendations to the Director regarding 
     any policy or criteria established by the Director to carry 
     out the Program;
       ``(5) may--
       ``(A) collect, by correspondence or by personal 
     investigation, information concerning initiatives, studies, 
     services, programs, or other activities of coalitions or 
     organizations working in the field of substance abuse in the 
     United States or any other country; and
       ``(B) with the approval of the Director, make the 
     information referred to in subparagraph (A) available through 
     appropriate publications or other methods for the benefit of 
     eligible coalitions and the general public; and
       ``(6) may appoint subcommittees and convene workshops and 
     conferences.
       ``(b) Recommendations.--If the Director rejects any 
     recommendation of the Advisory Commission under subsection 
     (a)(1), the Director shall notify the Advisory Commission in 
     writing of the reasons for the rejection not later than 15 
     days after receiving the recommendation.
       ``(c) Conflict of Interest.--A member of the Advisory 
     Commission shall recuse himself or herself from any decision 
     that would constitute a conflict of interest.

     ``SEC. 1043. MEMBERSHIP.

       ``(a) In General.--The President shall appoint 11 members 
     to the Advisory Commission as follows:
       ``(1) 4 members shall be appointed from the general public 
     and shall include leaders--
       ``(A) in fields of youth development, public policy, law, 
     or business; or
       ``(B) of nonprofit organizations or private foundations 
     that fund substance abuse programs.
       ``(2) 4 members shall be appointed from the leading 
     representatives of national substance abuse reduction 
     organizations, of which no fewer than 3 members shall have 
     extensive training or experience in drug prevention.
       ``(3) 3 members shall be appointed from the leading 
     representatives of State substance abuse reduction 
     organizations.
       ``(b) Chairperson.--The Advisory Commission shall elect a 
     chairperson or co-chairpersons from among its members.
       ``(c) Ex Officio Members.--The ex officio membership of the 
     Advisory Commission shall consist of any 2 officers or 
     employees of the United States that the Director determines 
     to be necessary for the Advisory Commission to effectively 
     carry out its functions.

     ``SEC. 1044. COMPENSATION.

       ``(a) In General.--Members of the Advisory Commission who 
     are officers or employees of the United States shall not 
     receive any additional compensation for service on the 
     Advisory Commission. The remaining members of the Advisory 
     Commission shall receive, for each day (including travel 
     time) that they are engaged in the performance of the 
     functions of the Advisory Commission, compensation at rates 
     not to exceed the daily equivalent to the annual rate of 
     basic pay payable for grade GS-10 of the General Schedule.
       ``(b) Travel Expenses.--Each member of the Advisory 
     Commission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 
     in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 
     5703 of title 5, United States Code.

     ``SEC. 1045. TERMS OF OFFICE.

       ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the term of 
     office of a member of the Advisory Commission shall be 3 
     years, except that, as designated at the time of 
     appointment--
       ``(1) of the initial members appointed under section 
     1043(a)(1), 2 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years;
       ``(2) of the initial members appointed under section 
     1043(a)(2), 2 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; and
       ``(3) of the initial members appointed under section 
     1043(a)(3), 1 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year.
       ``(b) Vacancies.--Any member appointed to fill a vacancy 
     for an unexpired term of a member shall serve for the 
     remainder of the unexpired term. A member of the Advisory 
     Commission may serve after the expiration of such member's 
     term until a successor has been appointed and taken office.

     ``SEC. 1046. MEETINGS.

       ``(a) In General.--After its initial meeting, the Advisory 
     Commission shall meet, with the advanced approval of the 
     Administrator, at the call of the Chairperson (or Co-
     chairpersons) of the Advisory Commission or a majority of its 
     members or upon the request of the Director or Administrator 
     of the Program.
       ``(b) Quorum.--6 members of the Advisory Commission shall 
     constitute a quorum.

     ``SEC. 1047. STAFF.

       ``The Administrator shall make available to the Advisory 
     Commission adequate staff, information, and other assistance.

     ``SEC. 1048. TERMINATION.

       ``The Advisory Commission shall terminate at the end of 
     fiscal year 2002.''.
       (b) References.--Each reference in Federal law to subtitle 
     A of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, with the exception of 
     section 1001 of such subtitle, in any provision of law that 
     is in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 
     Act shall be deemed to be a reference to chapter 1 of the 
     National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 (as so designated 
     by this section).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio [Mr. Portman] and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett] each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman].
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today the House considers the Drug Free Communities Act 
of 1997, legislation I introduced with the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. 
Hastert], the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Levin], and the gentleman 
from New York [Mr. Rangel]. This bill provides needed support to our 
communities around the country to help them wage the war on drugs, 
community by community, child by child.

[[Page H3179]]

  There is no more important battle to fight for the future of our 
country, and in my view, there is no more effective way to win that war 
than to focus our energies at the community level.
  The bipartisan effort we have before us today is the result of months 
and months of work with communities around the country, with top 
experts in the field, with Members on both sides of the aisle, with the 
administration. It represents some new thinking. It takes existing 
Federal drug control resources and rechannels them to support community 
antidrug groups around the country that are actually working to reduce 
teenage drug abuse.
  I believe a shift in priorities to support effective, sustainable 
prevention efforts is long overdue. We all know the numbers. 
Tragically, after more than a decade of substantial progress in 
reducing substance abuse among our kids the trends have now reversed, 
and reversed dramatically. Teenage drug use of marijuana, cocaine, 
inhalants, heroin, and other drugs is up. LSD use is at its highest 
reported levels.
  Of course, it is not just about numbers. It is about our kids and 
their futures being ruined. The Drug Free Communities Act is designed 
to support something we know actually works in reducing drug abuse, 
community-based coalitions. It does so in a cost-effective manner.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight the key features of this new 
approach. First, to qualify for a Federal matching grant under this 
program a local community must first demonstrate a comprehensive 
approach to the problem. Experience in the field, good research, and 
just common sense tells us that communities that have every major 
sector involved in this effort are those that are most effective.
  In March 1997, a GAO report confirms this for us. That is why this 
legislation supports only those communities that have mobilized youth, 
parents, businesses, law enforcement, the media, educators, and other 
key sectors that have been working together with a focused mission and 
targeted strategies.
  Second, the local community must demonstrate that it is not dependent 
on the Federal dollars. With local will and local financial support, we 
think a program is going to be more successful. Without them, a program 
simply cannot survive over the long haul.
  Not one Federal dollar will be spent under this program without a 
dollar or more first having been generated by a local community. A 100 
percent match is required, and no grant can exceed $100,000. The 
Federal Government should be a catalyst to communities to do the right 
thing. It will then be able to sustain that effort over time, with or 
without that Federal support.
  Third, one of the most common and often deserved criticism of Federal 
programs is that they lack accountability. This bill requires that the 
local community have a system of evaluation in place that actually 
measures outcomes, consistent with well-accepted standards. Successful 
community efforts around the country already do that. They evaluate 
their effectiveness. In order to generate local financial support in 
the private sector they simply have to do that.
  Fourth, although the data indicates that broad-based local efforts 
work best, we also know that national and State leadership can play a 
very helpful role at the local level. For example, national and State 
experts in the field can assist local communities by sharing the best 
ideas from around the country, and by helping to put in place effective 
systems to sustain and evaluate the local efforts.
  This bill encourages local communities to involve their Federal and 
their State leaders. The 44 Members of Congress who have recently 
established or worked with community antidrug coalitions in their own 
districts can speak from their own experiences on this. Some of them 
will today.
  I can speak for mine. Over the past 2 years with Cincinnati in 
organizing the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati in my 
hometown, we helped mobilize our local community, but we also brought 
national groups to the table, like the Partnership for a Drug Free 
America, the Community Antidrug Coalitions of America, CATCA, the 
National Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education, PRIDE, as well 
as others in the State level. Because the drug issue is best addressed 
at the local level, in my view, this bill encourages all of us to focus 
our efforts more there.
  Fifth, this is not a matter of new money, but getting more bang for 
the buck from existing resources. The bill redirects to communities 
less than three-tenths of 1 percent of our existing money from the $16 
billion Federal drug control budget. We have been working with 
appropriators in the full committee and on the Treasury-Postal 
Subcommittee to help identify the appropriate offsets.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, to ensure this program assists efforts that are 
truly working, and to ensure it gives communities the flexibility to 
continue to fashion innovative solutions to local problems, an advisory 
commission made up of local community leaders and national and State 
experts in the field of substance abuse will help select the 
administrator and actually oversee this program.
  The legislation has the support of hundreds of community groups in 
all 50 States; national leaders, such as former drug czar Bill Bennett, 
former HEW Secretary Joe Califano, National Drug Prevention Groups like 
CATCA, I mentioned PRIDE, the Partnership for Drug Free America; and 
because it is fiscally responsible, it has the support of the Council 
for Citizens Against Government Waste.
  Before I conclude, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all those 
groups around the country who have helped us put this effort together. 
Of course, I also want to commend my colleagues, the gentleman from 
Michigan Mr. Levin, the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. Barrett, the 
gentleman from Illinois, Denny Hastert, the gentleman from Indiana, Dan 
Burton, the gentleman from Maryland, Elijah Cummings, and many others 
who actually helped improve this legislation.
  Finally, I would like to pay tribute to somebody else who is here, my 
chief of staff, John Bridgeland. He actually conceived this idea, 
coordinated the drafting of the legislation, and helped get it through 
the process.

                              {time}  1045

  I really believe that his good work and that of so many from both 
sides of the aisle is going to make a difference. It is actually going 
to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our kids around this 
country. I urge Members to support this legislation so that we can get 
on with the business of providing communities the needed support they 
need to reduce drug abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume, and I rise in support of the Drug-Free Community Act of 
1997.
  Mr. Speaker, youth substance abuse is an enormous problem. Studies 
show that children who use drugs are two to five times more likely to 
drop out of school. One-quarter of our health care costs are related to 
substance abuse, and more than half of all child and spousal abuse 
cases are related to substance abuse.
  Unfortunately, we are not winning the war on teenage drug abuse. In 
the last 3 years teenage drug use has risen 78 percent. LSD and 
hallucinogen use has increased 183 percent, and cocaine use is up 166 
percent.
  The Monitoring the Future Study just released in December found that 
the increase in teenage drug use is caused in part by the fact that 
youngsters have heard less about the dangers of drugs. The message will 
more likely reach our children, our teens, when all sectors of the 
community, schools, media, law enforcement, and parent groups join 
together in a coordinated attack against teenage substance abuse.
  Fortunately this bill goes right to the root of the problem and 
provides matching grants of up to $100,000 a year to community 
coalitions that are working together to get the message to our teens. 
Eligible coalitions must demonstrate their long-term commitment, 
financial viability and success. Therefore, communities will get the 
seed money they need, yet taxpayer money will not be wasted on 
unsuccessful programs or programs that do not have the backing of the 
community.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important initiative. In fact, 
in my own home town, Milwaukee, we have recently had a youth crime 
forum

[[Page H3180]]

where we brought together many portions of our community to talk about 
the issue of youth crime and drug use. This is the type of forum that I 
think would be a perfect candidate for this program. It works with 
different components of the community and really allows the community 
to come together.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to take this opportunity to thank the author 
of the bill, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman], and the 
subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Hastert], for 
making this a truly bipartisan bill.
  In particular I would like to thank them for working out the concerns 
that I raised by adding language that first ensures that the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy can draw on the substantial grant 
experience of the Department of Health and Human Services; second, that 
it protects against violations of ethical standards applicable to White 
House entities; and third, makes clear that we do not intend to fund 
this program by cutting funding for successful drug prevention programs 
already in place at HHS.
  I am also very pleased that the concerns raised by the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Waxman], the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders], the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Cummings], the gentleman from Michigan 
[Mr. Levin], and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel] were worked 
out to everyone's satisfaction.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia Mr. Gingrich], the Speaker of the House.
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Ohio for yielding 
me the time.
  I want to commend both the Democratic and Republican leaders of this 
bill who worked together in a bipartisan manner to help develop a Drug-
free Community Act that I think is a significant step in the right 
direction. First of all, I believe that this bill moves us in the right 
direction because it moves efforts to the community level. It involves 
the entire community and it creates an environment in which we 
recognize that volunteers, churches, synagogues, mosques, local 
governments, private businesses, and individual citizens all have a 
role to play in the drug prevention effort.
  The goal is also correct, drug-free communities. I believe all of us 
should commit ourselves to the goal of beginning the 21st century on 
January 1, 2001, the first morning of the next millennium, a Monday 
morning in which our goal should be to have a virtually drug-free 
America, to get back, say, to the level of drug use that was prevalent 
in 1960, when I was a very tiny child and very few people were using 
drugs.
  It is doable but it is only doable by having a comprehensive effort, 
one key component of which is drug-free communities, a strong effort at 
prevention, and making sure the young people know not to do drugs and a 
strong effort at education so people understand the consequences of 
doing drugs. When people learn that 50 percent of homicides and violent 
crime is drug related, that young people who use drugs are between two 
and five times more likely to drop out of school, that when over half 
the child abuse cases are drug and alcohol related, and let me say, we 
recently had a press conference with the gentlewoman from New York [Ms. 
Molinari] on child abuse, one of the case workers there said that 99 
percent of the cases they had dealt with in their career involved 
either drug or alcohol addiction as a component.
  It is clear that drug use is a plague which affects this entire 
country. This bill moves us towards the world that Marvin Olasky 
described in the Tragedy of American Compassion, the world that de 
Tocqueville described in Democracy in America, back to an America in 
which local citizens in local community programs working with local 
faith-based institutions create the environment and the opportunity to 
reach out and save lives.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote for the Drug-Free Community Act. 
It is a significant building block in the right direction, and it is 
the kind of program that will have fewer young people involved with 
drugs and a healthier and safer country.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel], ranking member of 
the Committee on Ways and Means.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for yielding me 
the time. I thank the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] and all those 
that made this bill possible. Let me thank Speaker Gingrich. No one in 
this House has been more sensitive than Speaker Gingrich to the problem 
that has been facing our Nation as we see our youth being destroyed 
through a poison that originates outside of this great Republic. We 
have talked so many times as to how we can prevent this threat to our 
national security, and yet I can almost say hallelujah for this bill 
today, Mr. Speaker, because every time I have come to this floor to 
talk about drugs and youth, instead of talking about education and hope 
and dreams, we have talked about mandatory sentences, more time in jail 
instead of what this bill does. And it goes to the American people and 
asks, save our country, save our community and save our children.
  There is no bigger fight that we can wage by going to our communities 
and asking them to give education and hopes and dreams to our children 
because, once they have it, they are not the ones that end up with lack 
of hope doing drugs, doing crimes, doing violence and causing this 
great Nation to be the one that has more people incarcerated than any 
Republic on the face of the Earth.
  I hope that this serves as a model where the Congress can 
continuously go back to the community. One of the things that they will 
ask us to do is to help us to keep this poison from coming into this 
country from countries that are producing it. If we can tear down the 
walls of communism as we have done, we cannot let a couple of nickel 
and dime countries produce this poison to come in here and have it 
available to our children.
  This is what our community would be saying. They will be asking for 
our Secretary of State to be speaking out, our Secretary of Education, 
everybody in the Cabinet, because this is a threat to our national 
security. So I say to Speaker Gingrich, who recognizes that in order to 
save our kids we have to give them something to live for, this brings 
the community in. And we do not have to go back home and say how tough 
we were against drugs based on how long the sentences were.
  If we are going to be successful, it means that countries can have 
all the drugs available but our kids would not need them. Why? Because 
they would be able to say, as we enjoy economic growth, as we move into 
the next century, as we see international trade being a new way to go, 
they can say that they will be a part of it. But what do they have 
today? One thing is certain, that any black family in the United States 
of America knows that if they have a child, a boy child that they can 
be guaranteed according to the bureau of statistics that one out of 
four of those children would end up in jail. When was it that the 
American dream was that maybe one of these children could end up as 
President of the United States?
  So what we are doing as Republican and Democrats is not demagoging an 
issue. We are saying, can we not work together? Can we not go to the 
communities and ask them, is it not better to have more teachers than 
police? Is it not better to go back home to our State legislatures and 
find that out, that they are fighting to have a university in their 
district instead of what we find out today, they are fighting to have a 
prison in their district?
  Is it not great to find out in the great city of New York, we pay 
$84,000 to keep a bum kid in Rikers Island, a detention center, and the 
unions and the mayor are fighting to see whether $7,000 a year is 
enough? We pay $7,000 a year for a child being born addicted to drugs, 
$40,000 to pull out a bullet after a kid has been shot in a gang war. 
And yet we are not prepared to do the things like has been done today, 
to come together and say, the strength of our Nation is the confidence 
that we have in our communities and that we are going to work together 
to make certain as we tore down the walls of communism, we are going to 
raise the hope so that those people who disrespect international law, 
who grow and dispense and traffic in narcotics and who know they will 
be certified because it is the political thing to do, to

[[Page H3181]]

know that the families throughout this country, rich and poor, black 
and white say we have had enough of it. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. 
Portman] has found a way to allow us to believe in ourselves and the 
Congress by putting together this bill.
  Let this be a beginning. Let this be a bridge. Let us forget what we 
used to do and see whether we can do more of this type of legislation 
when we respond to the hearts and the minds of the people that are 
afraid for their children.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Indiana [Mr. Burton].
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of H.R. 
956, the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997.
  I would like to commend and congratulate my colleague and the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] who conceived a better cooperative 
relationship between Government and communities in order to better 
fight the scourge of drugs among our Nation's youth. His diligence and 
commitment to this effort have shown amazing results.
  Beginning in his own district, the Portman community drug initiative 
was proof that Federal partnerships with community leaders and 
organizations are an extremely effective weapon in the fight against 
illegal drug use. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] has now turned 
his successful effort into this legislation before us today.
  I would like to also commend the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. 
Hastert] for his tenacity on the drug issue and on this bill in 
particular. His leadership on the issue of illegal drug trafficking and 
illegal drug use has been outstanding, both in this Congress and in 
past Congresses. I thank him for shepherding this legislation through 
his subcommittee.
  I would also like to congratulate the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Levin] and my good friend, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel], 
the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett], and others for their help 
in this effort.
  We, as Members of Congress, often voted on legislation that will 
never have a direct impact on our own districts. Today, however, 
through this legislation now before us, we will have the means to 
positively and directly impact the very cities, towns, and communities 
that we represent. This legislation will enable each and every one of 
us to go back to our districts with the resources and the knowhow to 
bolster our efforts to reduce the devastating effects of substance 
abuse that we all know is destroying America.
  Drug abuse has doubled in the last 5 years with the most alarming 
increases among 13- and 14-year-olds. Absolutely astonishing rates of 
drug use are chronicled in the report that accompanies this 
legislation, the National Household Survey on Drug Use. That survey 
shows that from 1994 to 1996, illegal drug use by 12- to 17-year-olds 
rose 78 percent. LSD use increased by 183 percent and cocaine use rose 
by 166 percent over those 3 years.
  Our young people today are clearly not seeing the risks associated 
with drug use the way they used to. Studies on perceived risks bear 
this out. One conducted by the National Center on Addiction and 
Substance Abuse showed that in just 1 year the number of 12- to 17-
year-olds who said they would never try an illegal drug dropped by 40 
percent. Kids are not getting a clear message about drug use, about it 
being wrong, deadly, and illegal. They are not getting it from their 
parents, and regrettably they are not getting it from the leadership in 
this administration.
  This bill is very, very important. I urge all of my colleagues to 
support it. Once again, I congratulate its sponsor, the gentleman from 
Ohio [Mr. Portman].

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Michigan, [Mr. Levin], one of the leaders on our side of 
the aisle that really helped shape this bill.
  (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  We have a major problem in this country. This is an effort to address 
it. Surveys show, for example, in high schools in the last month, in 
many cases a third of the students have used illegal drugs. We have 
been losing ground.
  This is an effort to say we are going to start to reverse the trend. 
The gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. Portman] and I put this bill together 
with the help of others, based on the experiences within our own 
communities. This is a bill that springs from the communities to 
Washington.
  The gentleman from Ohio has described the experiences within 
Cincinnati. Within the 12th District I represent, led by the city of 
Troy and early pioneering coalitions, we have seen that the best way to 
fight this effort, to make this a successful one, is to draw on all the 
resources of the community, every resource: religious leaders, law 
enforcement leaders, business leaders, parents, teachers, kids. 
Everybody has to be pulled together to work on this.
  We have seen this in both Macomb and Oakland Counties, as I said led 
by Troy. And an amazing fact in a recent survey, half of the residents 
of the city of Troy knew of the Troy Community Coalition and its work 
on drugs.
  So the gentleman from Ohio and I said to ourselves, in working with 
others, how do we replicate the experiences within our communities? 
That is the issue, not just to have a successful experiment here or a 
successful experiment there but to spread it throughout this country. 
And this is an effort through matching grants to try to replicate the 
experiences within these communities.
  I have enjoyed so much working with him and the gentleman from 
Illinois, [Mr. Hastert], who helped us shepherd this through the 
subcommittee; with the gentleman from New York, [Mr. Rangel], the 
gentleman from Wisconsin, [Mr. Barrett], and others; and with the 
staffs, as mentioned by the gentleman from Ohio, and Drew Setter of our 
office. Our local staff goes to every single coalition meeting within 
our communities.
  This is a battle we have no choice but to win, and this act, this 
proposal, is an important step to pull us all together to pull this 
off. We have no choice.
  I am proud to be working with the gentleman from Ohio, and I urge all 
of us to vote for this and, more importantly, for every Member to work 
to stimulate, if it does not exist, a coalition within our districts. 
When we all work together, I think this effort will work.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire as to how much time 
remains on each side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor of North Carolina). Each side has 
9 minutes remaining.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
to simply commend the gentleman from Michigan, [Mr. Levin], for his 
work at the local level.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. 
Boehner], my neighbor.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, let me commend my colleague from Ohio, [Mr. 
Portman], and our other colleague, the gentleman from Michigan, [Mr. 
Levin], for bringing this bill to the floor today and, more 
importantly, for all of their hard work, and their staffs in the work 
that they are doing to fight teenage drug abuse in both Cincinnati and 
in Troy, MI.
  There is no doubt that drugs are a big problem in our country. A 1996 
study by the National Parent's Resource Institute for Drug Education 
showed that 1 in 4 high school seniors use illicit drugs at least once 
a month, 1 in 5 use once a week, and 1 in 10 use drugs once every day. 
I think this is a serious study.
  Another study done by the National Household Survey found that 
illicit drug use among 12- to 17-year-olds has increased by 78 percent 
in the last 3 years, and LSD and hallucinogen use has increased by an 
amazing 166 percent.
  Yesterday the President talked about the new glamour drug, that being 
heroin, and the fact that it is glamourized by Hollywood and ought to 
come to an end.
  As with so many other problems in this country, the real gains 
against drug abuse are driven at the local level. All over the United 
States, including right in my back yard in Cincinnati,

[[Page H3182]]

local programs to fight drug abuse are showing real signs of being 
successful. But as my colleagues know, and as these statistics show, 
more needs to be done.
  In Cincinnati, just down the road from where I live, the gentleman 
from Ohio, Rob Portman, has developed a fantastic program with all 
types of organizations. In a coordinated effort, the community is 
providing parents with drug education training, radio and TV stations 
are running antidrug messages, and employers are being encouraged to 
adopt certified drug-free workplace programs. With the whole community 
working together, we have seen tangible results.
  And that is why I am here today, to strongly support their work and 
their bill we have before us, H.R. 956, the Drug-Free Communities Act. 
This bill encourages local communities to develop their own innovative 
approaches to fighting drug abuse and then rewards those who are 
successful.
  The bill takes already existing Federal funds that would be spent 
here in Washington and redirects them to local communities that have a 
comprehensive self-sustaining antidrug coalition. They have done a good 
job and they deserve our support.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Texas, [Mr. Turner], one of the most active members on 
our committee in helping shape this bill.
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise in support of the Drug-
Free Communities Act. It is a very important piece of legislation.
  We all know the facts and we all know the figures about the problems 
of drug abuse in our Nation, and yet I think most of us today would put 
faces on those problems. I think about my friend Larry, in Crockett, 
whose son recently overdosed on drugs and I attended the funeral. I 
think about my friend Mitch, whom I graduated from high school with, 
whose children also went to school with mine, who died on prom night in 
a single car accident because he drove with too much alcohol.
  Those are the very real problems that all of us know all too 
personally, which cause us, I think, to unite in a bipartisan way to 
attack the problems of drugs in our country.
  This bill represents what I think is the very best of bipartisan 
cooperation, and I think it represents what government in the next 
century must look like. President Clinton said the era of big 
government is over, and this bill implements that concept.
  I commend the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman], the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Hastert], the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett], the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Levin], and the gentleman from New York 
[Mr. Rangel], all of whom worked very hard to bring this bill about.
  This bill represents a progressive and commonsense approach to 
attacking the menace of drug abuse. It is community based. It 
recognizes that communities can best solve their own problems, and it 
brings to the table and encourages the coalitions of religious groups, 
law enforcement, business community representatives, churches, who all 
across this country are working already on this problem. This bill 
acknowledges their efforts and provides matching grants to allow them 
to continue to build upon the good work that is already being done.
  This bill is prevention based. We all know we have built prisons all 
across our country, in every State in this Nation, until we have taxed 
the taxpayers way too much for the cost of drug abuse and lawbreakers. 
But the truth of the matter is this bill also says that prevention is 
the key to solving the problem of crime.
  This is a good bill. This is a bipartisan bill. This is a bill that 
we can all be proud of because it acknowledges that government does 
have a role but that communities can best solve their own problems. I 
hope every Member of Congress will unite behind this landmark piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Hastert] who has been a national leader in the fight 
against drugs along our borders and our communities.
  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, the problem of drug use in our Nation is 
growing. We have heard all the statistics today. We can talk about 
statistics and illustrate the problems.
  We know that illicit drug use among our most vulnerable population, 
our kids, is growing. We know that the number of kids who would say 
that they would never try drugs have dropped. We know that parents have 
stopped talking to their children about drugs.
  We also know that centralized Federal programs, the big government, 
so to speak, is not always the answer. We do have a responsibility. We 
have the Coast Guard to make sure that we stop drugs coming across our 
borders. We have the customs agents and the border patrols. That is our 
job in this Congress, to make sure that we can stop drugs coming in. 
But the most effective way to stop drugs is prevention; to teach kids, 
to give them the support to stop them wanting to try to use drugs.
  This is what the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman], and I 
congratulate him, and my good friend, the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Rangel], who has been on the front of this whole drug issue for a long 
time, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Levin], the gentleman from 
Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett], the ranking member, I thank him for his good 
work, this is what we are doing. We are pulling together to make sure 
communities have the ability to fight this problem.
  We are not pouring a lot of money, but we are saying if communities 
can bring their faith-based, fraternity-based, civic-based 
organizations together to have effective drug prevention, then we can 
go ahead and we will help them. If they need a little bit of support, 
if they need a director or something along those lines, we can help 
them through this bill.
  This is the right direction. This is not the only direction but this 
is the right direction for this Congress to go in order to fight drugs. 
We need to start in the communities. We need to start with people back 
home, and this bill does it.
  I certainly congratulate the gentleman from Ohio, and I support this 
bill and ask everybody else to support it.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Cummings] who, in committee, added a very 
important amendment that improved this bill.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Drug-Free 
Communities Act. I thank the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman 
from Ohio [Mr. Portman] for his vision, his guidance, and his mission. 
He and his staff worked in a bipartisan fashion with Members on both 
sides of the aisle and they are certainly to be commended for their 
hard work.
  I also wish to thank the chairman of the Subcommittee on National 
Security, the gentleman from Illinois, Congressman Hastert, and my 
ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett], for their 
leadership. And certainly the hard work of the gentleman from New York 
[Mr. Rangel], and the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Levin], does not go 
unnoticed, and I thank them.
  My colleagues, this legislation is so important to our Nation. Many 
areas, like my home district of Baltimore, are disproportionately 
ravaged by the drug epidemic. This bill would set a blueprint and a 
road map for community organizations to receive matching funds and 
provide assistance in their drug prevention programs.
  This measure focuses on a theme that I echo continuously when I visit 
neighborhoods throughout Baltimore. To be successful in this war on 
drugs, it will take a partnership between State and local governments, 
educators and health care professionals, law enforcement officials and 
community groups, as well as religious organizations and the private 
sector. There must be a unified American counter-drug effort with one 
common purpose, to reduce illegal drug use and its consequences in 
America.
  I support a national drug strategy, which includes both domestic and 
international efforts, to strongly eradicate drug importing and drug 
trafficking. However, cultivating and empowering grass roots leadership 
is so vital in effective drug control efforts. Best of all, this 
measure focuses on local needs. This measure allows us to use the 
people's funds in a very effective and cost efficient manner.

[[Page H3183]]

  There is one community organization in west Baltimore, led by a woman 
named Adele Redden, which has single-handedly reduced drug trafficking 
in their neighborhood by 70 percent over the last 3 years. The men and 
women who are working in neighborhoods across America are the real 
heroes in this fight against drug abuse.
  It is crucial we reach our young people before they get hooked on 
drugs. This bill goes a long ways towards that end.
  My colleagues, if we want to make a difference in the war on drugs, 
if we want to go home to our constituents and tell them we are actually 
working to stem the flow of drugs entering this country, if we want to 
support the drug czar in his efforts to reduce illegal drug use and 
crime that comes to our cities, I urge all of us to support this bill.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
to commend the gentleman from Maryland for his work in improving the 
bill, as I said earlier.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Gilman], the chairman of the Committee on International Relations.

                              {time}  1115

  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 956, the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997. I commend the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] and our distinguished committee 
chairman, the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Burton], and the minority 
member, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett], the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Levin], and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel] for 
their support of this measure.
  It is an important measure. I have taken an active role in our 
international fight against drugs as chairman of our Committee on 
International Relations. But this important legislation is an important 
domestic measure. It encourages our local communities to band together 
to develop and share their ideas on the very best way to fight this 
scourge on illegal drugs in our society.
  The stakes in the drug war are high, affecting the lives of our young 
people. We need to develop more community involvement in order to 
ensure a more effective antidrug program. Time and time again, it has 
been demonstrated that, when confronted with strong community 
opposition and awareness, drug traffickers and criminals take their 
business elsewhere.
  H.R. 956, the Drug Free Communities Act, will make certain that our 
communities will have the kind of flexibility and kind of resources 
necessary to create solutions that address their own local problems 
stemming from drug trafficking and substance abuse. It requires our 
community leaders to take the initiative on these issues and to oversee 
the antisubstance abuse programs that have been created.
  In order to receive Federal matching funds, bear in mind that these 
programs must include the involvement of community leaders, must be 
sustainable, and must have some system in place to evaluate their 
success and failure. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of our 
colleagues to support this significant antisubstance legislation.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from California [Ms. Millender-McDonald], who has been 
active both here and in her home community of Los Angeles in addressing 
the problems of drug abuse.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle for this piece of legislation. I 
am proud to support the Drug Free Community Act. This bipartisan 
legislation will authorize essential funding for community coalitions 
that are making a difference in addressing the Nation's drug problem.
  We have all heard the statistics on the rising rate of marijuana use 
among our Nation's youth. Among eighth graders alone, the rate of 
marijuana use tripled in 1996, and the marijuana of today is 15 times 
more potent than the marijuana used in the 1970's. But even more 
lethal, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines are the drugs that are 
tearing apart families and ruining communities throughout the country 
and in my district.
  California has the worst methamphetamine problem in the country. Over 
the past few years, there has been a significant increase in 
methamphetamine use, especially in Los Angeles. From 1990 to 1994, the 
admissions of Los Angeles residents to addiction treatment centers 
jumped from 700 to over 2,000, and this number only includes those who 
have received treatment.
  At any given time during the month, some 13,000 Californians who have 
sought treatment cannot get it because they are placed on a waiting 
list, which can last from 3 to 60 days. The Drug Free Community Act can 
change these numbers and begin a new era when parents, teachers, 
churches, and entire communities can come together to prevent, treat, 
and ultimately end drug abuse.
  We have already lost too many children to drugs and crime. We cannot 
afford to lose any more. Creating opportunities for community 
coalitions to overcome the problems of drug abuse is essential in our 
effort to maintain and improve the social fabric of our communities, 
not just in the 37th Congressional District, but in the entire country.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote on this very important bill, and 
I would like to thank the sponsors for this legislation, as it will 
help me in assisting my constituents in my district.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as we have seen and have heard from a lot of Members, 
there is no issue more important to the future of our kids than this 
one. We do have a lot of speakers interested in addressing it.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to extend by 20 minutes the 
debate time on this legislation, 10 minutes to each side equally 
divided between myself and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett].
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oklahoma [Mr. Watts].
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. 
Barrett], and I would like to congratulate them on the leadership on 
this most difficult and tragic problem, a problem that challenges every 
community in America. And that problem, as any parent can tell us, is 
the problem of drug abuse among America's youth.
  This is not a problem that is limited to America's urban ghettos, as 
some would want to believe. There is no hiding from America's drug 
dealers by moving to a wealthy suburb or a serene rural area. The drug 
dealer sets no boundaries to his deathly trade. He seeks to solicit 
profits where there is potential. There is potential in any community, 
rich or poor, urban or rural, any community that is not actively 
advanced in a serious antidrug effort. That is why this legislation is 
so important, and that is why I applaud my colleagues, the gentleman 
from Ohio [Mr. Portman] and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett], 
for advancing this important legislation.
  The Drug Free Community Act is a major step forward in an effort to 
protect our communities from those that would pollute our children, 
steal their health, and destroy their lives. It was not too many years 
ago when we were heartily congratulating one another on a decrease in 
drug use among America's youth. Sadly, our self-congratulation has been 
premature.
  Statistics show that since 1991, teenage drug use of every kind has 
increased at an obscene rate. In 3 years, illicit drug use among 12- to 
17-year-olds rose 78 percent. Even more frightening, there is a rise in 
drug use among children under 12 years of age.
  Just as the drug dealer knows no physical bounds to his trade, he 
also knows no age limitation. Our smallest children are his target. The 
Drug Free Community Act puts power in the communities where it belongs 
and provides incentives and helping hand to citizens who take a stand 
against letting drugs take over their communities.
  I have seen these local programs work. They can make a difference, 
and

[[Page H3184]]

we he must do all we can to extend a hand to America's families and 
communities who are on the frontlines of this critical war to put an 
end to this drug trade and to save our children. I urge my colleagues 
to support the Drug Free Community Act.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she 
may consume to the fine gentlewoman from California [Ms. Waters].
  (Ms. WATERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I am delighted to join 
with all of my colleagues here today to support this legislation. It is 
extremely important that Americans know that there is bipartisan 
support for this legislation. There is bipartisan support because all 
of our communities, whether they are inner cities or rural areas or 
suburban areas, are now under attack.
  The greatest threat, the greatest security threat to America is 
drugs, the illegal use of drugs, the drug addiction, the violence 
associated with drugs. The No. 1 priority of the Congressional Black 
Caucus is the eradication of drugs in our society. We worked for days 
to put together our legislative agenda. We have decided that we are 
going to put all of our time and effort in on eradicating drugs.
  We went around this country talking about something that had happened 
in south central Los Angeles. And many people wondered why I spent so 
much time dealing with the accusation of CIA involvement in drug 
trafficking. I spent an awful lot of time because in the 1980's, in 
south central Los Angeles, I witnessed an explosion of drug addiction 
and violence and I wondered what was happening, why were so many young 
people getting involved. I wondered why the explosion of violence and 
crime.
  What is important about my involvement in this issue and trying to 
seek out answers is not so much to be able to identify who said what, 
who did what, who wrote the memo, my involvement is because in the town 
hall meetings across this Nation, whether I was up in Brooklyn, NY, or 
St. Louis, MO or south central Los Angeles, was the outpouring of 
parents and grandparents talking about what had happened to their 
children and their families.
  Crack cocaine is one of the most vicious drugs that was ever 
manufactured by anybody. That is not to say that marijuana and 
methamphetamine are not dangerous and addictive. They are, and they are 
problems. But I want you to know what we have witnessed with crack 
cocaine should not happen to humans anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
  The Congressional Black Caucus is determined that we are going to 
take back our communities, we are going to give leadership, we are 
going to provide a platform for debate and discussion on this issue, we 
are going to engage communities, we are going to hold the town hall 
meetings, we are talking with young people, we will be involved at 
campaigns, we are going to do everything that is possible to do to take 
back our communities, protect our children, be involved with prevention 
and rehabilitation, and, yes, redirection.
  This bill speaks to that. This bill speaks to it because it talks 
about community coalitions, engaging communities, getting everybody 
involved in this problem. We have introduced seven bills from the 
Congressional Black Caucus. Many of those bills would complement this 
bill. Not only do we talk about community coalitions also, but we talk 
about rehabilitation and we talk about prevention. But we also ask the 
Department of Justice to help to monitor the drugs that are confiscated 
so that they do not get back out on the streets in ways that we have 
learned that they are doing in some of our communities.
  I am so pleased and proud that the Members who have worked on this 
had the wisdom and the foresight and the vision to understand where we 
must direct our attention. We cannot talk about job training, we cannot 
talk about teenage pregnancy prevention, we cannot talk about keeping 
young people in school until we get rid of this scourge in our 
community. And we can do it.
  The American people have not used their power to deal with this 
issue. We have allowed this explosion. We have allowed young people 
increasingly to turn to drugs for answers. And we have sat back waiting 
on somebody else to solve the problem. Well, nobody else is going to 
solve this problem. We collectively are going to solve this problem. We 
are going to solve this problem because we are going to take the bull 
by the horns.
  These are our children. They did not drop down out of Mars. They did 
not come from someplace else. They are our grandchildren, our nieces, 
our nephews, our neighbors. These are our children. And if they are to 
be secure, if they are to be responsible, it is because we are going to 
provide that leadership, we are going to be the examples, we are going 
to be the leaders, we are going to be the organizers, we are going to 
be the ones that will set America free and allow our children to 
realize their potential.
  I do not know any parents who do not believe that their child can be 
President of the United States of America. I do not know any parent who 
does not understand that our children are precious and they should have 
the opportunity to realize their potential. And while we all have these 
dreams and these visions, we have allowed the scourge of drugs and drug 
traffickers and those who would peddle in death and destruction to 
increasingly creep into our lives and our communities and contaminate 
our children, contaminate our neighborhoods.
  Enough is enough. I will join hands with the most right wing of 
Republicans, the most left, if they can get on the left of me, of 
Democrats in order to get this work done. It is our job. It really is 
our challenge. But you know what? We are smart. We are committed. We 
work hard. We have the energy, and we have the love for humanity, we 
have the love for our families and our children.

                              {time}  1130

  This bill really sets the tone and defines what we care about. The 
seven bills of the Congressional Black Caucus will further do that. I 
want my colleagues to watch the Congressional Black Caucus on this 
issue. I want my colleagues to watch us take leadership. I want Members 
to see what we have committed to do on this issue. I know there are 
those who have said, well, we have not heard enough. We were just naive 
enough oftentimes to believe that somehow somebody else, be it the 
White House or somebody else, was just going to do this work.
  Now that we have all decided to get involved, I am more inspired than 
I have ever been. If I do nothing else in my career, if I do nothing 
else in providing leadership, the leadership that I will provide as the 
chair of the Congressional Black Caucus will be centered and focused on 
this issue, on getting rid of drugs in our society, freeing our 
communities, as this bill indicates.
  I thank the Members, all Members who have worked, who have labored, 
who have put it together. This is what we need. Combined with all that 
we are going to be doing and the bills that we have put together in the 
Congressional Black Caucus, I think we will see a change. The data, the 
statistics, will be different a year from now. If we continue in the 
fashion and the way that I know we can, 5 years down the road, we can 
all stand up and be very proud about the significant reduction that we 
have made in the use of drugs, in the crime and violence associated 
with drugs. We can see the reductions in the Federal penitentiaries, of 
young people who are getting convicted under mandatory minimums, many 
of them just 19 and 20 years old, addicted themselves, out hustling, 
selling small amounts of drugs because they think somehow they can get 
over.
  We are going to see a change in that. We need those resources that we 
are putting into prisons to do other things with. We do not need to be 
continuing to take the taxpayers' money to deal with the problem that 
way. The Rand study that just came out said that is not the way to 
solve the problem anyway.
  This is the way to do it. We are going to wrap our arms around this 
program, we are going to put our hearts, our heads, and our minds 
together and we are going to let our children know that we truly love 
them and we are going to show them we love them because we have made 
them our No. 1 priority

[[Page H3185]]

through our public policy work and through sharing of resources to deal 
with this problem.
  Again, I am so proud, I am so pleased and delighted to be a part of 
this kind of coalition, of this kind of effort until I will not only 
commit again my time and my attention as the chair of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, but every member of the Congressional Black Caucus is 
committed and will be working beyond the Halls of Congress, on the 
streets, in the neighborhoods, in the townhall meetings, in the 
community centers and in the churches.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her passionate 
support and for her wing-to-wing broad spectrum approach to the 
problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina [Mrs. Myrick].
  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I also commend my colleagues for bringing 
this legislation forward. I commend my colleague from California for 
her remarks on this issue. We all do want to work together to solve the 
problem.
  I served as the mayor of Charlotte, NC, which is a large city. We 
definitely are experiencing all these problems with crime and teenage 
drug abuse. It is in every part of the country. It is not just in the 
large cities. It especially was important to me when I was mayor, and 
it is still important to me that we solve the problem. There is no 
reason we should not have solved it long ago.
  I have witnessed firsthand the devastation that this causes in our 
communities, the devastation of lives and the crime that comes along 
with it. I have worked on the streets so I know firsthand of what I am 
speaking.
  I also found the best way to solve the problem was through local 
organizations, groups that came together who really could work 
together, who knew what the problem was and could best solve it at the 
local level, not with the Federal Government dictating to them but 
giving the options of them knowing how best to do it.
  The Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 encourages that local community 
involvement to solve the problems by forming these coalitions. I have 
always said we at home know best how to solve our problems and we know 
best how to achieve success. The most successful substance abuse 
programs do have coalitions of churches and religious organizations 
involved. We need to encourage more of that because that is one of the 
main reasons that they work. I for one do not want to attend any more 
funerals of 13-, 14-, and 15-year-olds who have been senselessly 
murdered or drug overdosed because we have not done all we could do at 
all levels of government and all levels of community to solve this. I 
urge support of this bill.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] who has been very bold on this issue at the 
local level. He is also going to be critical frankly in the 
appropriations process in finding the appropriate offsets.
  (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. WOLF. I did not really come over to talk about the legislation. I 
came over to personally thank the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] for 
his leadership on this issue.
  There is a major drug problem in the country. I learned about it when 
I went into the high schools as I do and listened to the young people 
in my district. I learn what to do about it when I listen to the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] here in Congress. Because of the 
effort of the gentleman from Ohio, we have been able to put together a 
number of coalitions in our district that have made a difference.
  I just want to thank the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] and let 
him know that there will be many moms and dads and many young people 
who will be saved from the drug use problem for many, many years to 
come. It will be because of the leadership that the gentleman from Ohio 
[Mr. Portman] exercised and they may never know why it was done.
  I want to pay tribute to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] and 
urge all Members in this body, on both sides of the aisle, if they have 
not focused on the problem, I guarantee there is a major, major drug 
problem in Members' congressional districts. It may be in the most 
wealthy portion of a Member's district. I urge my colleagues to use 
this legislation to put together a coalition to do something about it. 
I again thank the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman].
  I am pleased to rise today in support of H.R. 956, the Drug Free 
Communities Act of 1997.
  I am a cosponsor of this legislation, which I believe will help 
reduce teenage drug use and abuse. In my congressional district, I have 
been active in promoting the creation and maintenance of community 
antidrug coalitions. Over the last year, I have sponsored two 
districtwide conferences and workshops to help implement the community 
coalition concept. These coalitions are groups of individuals from 
cities, towns, communities, and neighborhoods who work to reduce drug 
use by children and to keep their neighborhoods drug free.
  H.R. 956 has been endorsed by numerous antidrug organizations, 
including: PRIDE Parent Training, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of 
America, Drug Abuse Resistance Education America [DARE], and Mothers 
Against Drunk Driving.
  There are five main features of this legislation: First, in order to 
receive Federal support, a community must first demonstrate a 
comprehensive, long-term commitment to address teenage drug use through 
grassroots participation at the local level.
  Second, a community must demonstrate that its antidrug coalition is 
an ongoing concern that also has non-Federal financial support.
  Third, a community must have a good system to evaluate the success of 
its antidrug coalition efforts.
  Fourth, the coalition must be run by local leaders familiar with 
local problems and needs.
  Fifth, community coalitions will be eligible for Federal matching 
grant funding if they meet the above criteria.
  I know this legislation will prove helpful in the efforts of 
communities across America to fight the scourge of drugs. Teenage drug 
use and abuse has been skyrocketing and I believe H.R. 956 is an 
important step in helping to educate children about drugs and keeping 
communities drug free. I thank Congressman Portman for his leadership 
on this matter and for bringing this important legislation to the floor 
today.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Kentucky [Mr. Lewis].
  Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H.R. 956, the Drug-
Free Communities Act. This better equips community antidrug 
organizations that have proven effective in the war on drugs. All one 
needs to do is look at the facts to see that we have not done enough to 
combat drug abuse in our country.
  Fact. Marijuana use among high schoolers has more than doubled since 
1992. Fact. LSD use is now at its highest level since the early 1970's. 
Fact. We are losing the war on drugs.
  I believe that the best place to wage the war on drugs is in the 
home. When parents get involved, drug use is dramatically reduced. 
Local institutions must also get involved. Churches, schools, civic 
organizations, and local dignitaries must also step forward and help 
fight the war on drugs.
  This bill sends to local organizations the resources to provide 
needed guidance and support to stamp out this scourge on society. 
Recently I initiated the Heartland Coalition project. The goal of this 
project in my district in Kentucky is to bring together current 
antidrug groups and coordinate efforts to curtail the drastic increase 
in illegal drug use. These existing antidrug groups can efficiently and 
effectively use the Federal dollars allocated by this bill to do just 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, these grants can be used for a variety of purposes. They 
can help cover media campaigns to educate our kids about the dangers of 
drug abuse, or they can be used to sponsor seminars at schools. If 
these efforts keep just one kid off drugs, this bill will be a success.
  I urge all my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 956, the Drug-Free 
Communities Act. Again the best place to battle drugs is on the local 
level. That is what this bill does. It gives local communities the 
ability to fight the war on drugs.
  I would also like to commend the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] 
for his leadership on this issue.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Forbes].
  (Mr. FORBES asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)

[[Page H3186]]

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the architects of this wonderful 
initiative, because really it is about our children. There is no more 
precious resource in this Nation than our children and their futures. 
Frankly, the viability of our Nation rests on doing something about 
this very, very important problem.
  The American people might say, well, the Congress has talked about 
this for decades. We have attacked the problem of drug abuse, whether 
from the interdiction and stricter laws or the education side; we have 
debated about who is more correct on fighting drugs, the White House or 
the Congress. We have had these debates over the last several decades. 
Frankly, I think it points out most importantly that the Congress and 
the White House, whomever is in control of either, really does 
understand that there is probably no greater scourge, no more pressing 
public policy issue than dealing with this problem of those who push 
poison upon our children. That is why I am so delighted and thank my 
good colleagues and the architects of this important legislation, the 
Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997, for this wonderful initiative.
  Over a year ago, thanks to the leadership of the gentleman from Ohio 
[Mr. Portman], I stole a few ideas that he had initiated back home in 
his own district in Ohio. That was, to bring together the disparate 
groups that work so hard and so tirelessly to fight this problem of 
drug abuse in our communities. One thing I found out in bringing the 
groups together, whether it was the treatment folks or the education 
folks, whether the police, whether it was community groups, that they 
were all doing their own thing very, very well, but doing their own 
thing. I was surprised to learn that despite the notoriety of this 
problem, these well-meaning groups were not talking to each other. That 
is a very big problem in trying to fight the scourge of drugs.
  Mr. Speaker, this initiative will truly bring all parts of our 
community together, the churches and the synagogues, houses of worship, 
the youth, the police, the employers, parents, civic organizations. 
This is the critical part of this legislation. I thank the architects 
and I am proud to be a sponsor and supporter of this initiative.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield for a 
quick question?
  Mr. PORTMAN. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. I understand that the only difference 
between the version filed on Monday and the version being considered 
today is a minor technical change to ensure that the bill does not 
violate the establishment clause of the Constitution; is that correct?
  Mr. PORTMAN. The gentleman is correct.
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time 
to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fattah].
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor of North Carolina). The gentleman 
from Pennsylvania is recognized for 1 minute.
  (Mr. FATTAH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. FATTAH. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Barrett] for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. As someone who led a 
drug-free coalition effort in my own city in Philadelphia and has seen 
its benefits, I want to congratulate the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. 
Portman] for his leadership on this and for our committee for 
expeditiously moving this bill forward.
  This is the beginning of what we can do here at the Federal level. 
The gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel] has for such a long time been 
pointing in the right direction that as a Nation we should take a more 
aggressive leadership role on this issue and that more can be done. I 
rise in favorable support of this. I know that it works, bringing 
people together, providing the kind of cohesive and coordinated efforts 
that can happen through these efforts in the local communities. We 
should not stop here, however, and we should take hopefully this 
bipartisan spirit and really work together, really making sure that 
treatment and prevention are resources that are going to be available 
in abundance at a neighborhood level and community level and also 
inside our prison system which we seem so dedicated to as a society, we 
should also make sure that treatment is available and assistance is 
available there.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio is recognized for 
3\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of shocking statistics 
today. Those alone should inspire us to act and pass this legislation 
today. But as a lot of Members have also reminded us, this is about 
people and it is about our kids. I would not be standing here today 
probably if not for a visit 3 years ago from a young woman in my 
district, Patty Gilbert, the mother of two, who came to me to say that 
her 16-year-old son had just died from a combination of huffing 
gasoline and smoking marijuana.

                              {time}  1145

  Mr. Speaker, she issued a challenge to me. She said, ``I want to you 
to help us in our community.'' She said, ``I don't want to hear more 
about this rhetoric from Washington. I want to know what you can do to 
help us locally.''
  Mr. Speaker, it took us a while, but we finally came up with this 
idea that these communities coalitions really were working around the 
country, and it is something that Members of Congress could get engaged 
in and help with.
  My colleagues have heard from a few Members today, the gentleman from 
Kentucky [Mr. Lewis] and others who have committee coalitions up and 
going, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Levin], and they are working. 
We have at least 43 Members of Congress who are now working on their 
own community coalitions.
  This bill is the next step because it really does answer her 
question, it really does provide help in a meaningful way back in our 
communities. It does so by parent training. It does so by getting our 
businesses to have drug-free workplaces. It does so by involving our 
religious community. It does so by involving our schools. It is a 
neighborhood approach, it is a local approach, a community approach; we 
know it works.
  This is something that Congress is doing, as we have seen this 
morning, in a bipartisan way to approach a very real problem, and again 
what, I think, is a very meaningful way.
  I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the 
legislation today. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for all their 
help in putting this together.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 956, a 
bill I am pleased to cosponsor with my neighbor from Ohio, 
Representative Portman. I commend Representative Portman and the other 
members of the drug policy working group for their efforts in this 
area.
  H.R. 956 is an important step forward in our efforts to help the 
people who can do the most to stop illegal drug abuse. This bill would 
provide assistance to local community drug coalitions that have 
demonstrated a commitment to fighting drug abuse.
  I have spent a good bit of time in the last few months visiting with 
community leaders in southern Indiana who are active in fighting drug 
abuse. School counselors, PTA's, student groups, law enforcement 
officers, clergy, prosecutors, health care workers, businesses, and 
nonprofits are doing remarkable things to reduce drug abuse in their 
communities. They deserve our support.
  I am often struck by how little the debate in Congress focuses on 
what actually works to discourage drug use. Almost everyone agrees that 
the Government needs to interdict drug smugglers, eradicate drug-
producing crops, convict drug dealers, and help people break the cycle 
of drug addiction. We fall short, however, in taking personal 
responsibility for discouraging young people from using drugs. Parents, 
teachers, community leaders--and our young people themselves--need to 
take a more active role in fighting drug use. I have made a personal 
commitment to do more to keep young people off of drugs, and I 
encourage my colleagues to do the same.
  I am pleased that H.R. 956 offers more resources to the people on the 
front line of anti-drug efforts. Former First Lady Barbara Bush used to 
say that what happens in your house is more important than what happens 
in the White House. She was right on target: The solution to the drug 
problem begins at home. Data suggest that if parents would simply talk

[[Page H3187]]

to their children regularly about the dangers of substance abuse, use 
among youth could be expected to decline by as much as 30 percent. We 
must do all we can to help parents, teachers, clergy, and community 
leaders begin those conversations.
  The drug problem comes down to this: Personal responsibility. Not 
just for those who abuse drugs, but for every community member. We must 
each take it upon ourselves to do a little more to fight drugs. I am 
making fighting youth drug use a top personal priority in southern 
Indiana. We can have an impact if a few more of us wear red drug-free 
ribbons, if a few more parents ask their children about drugs at the 
dinner table, if a few more businesses sponsor a youth drug-free 
program. If each of us insists on more responsibility--and sets a 
personal example by not using drugs and discouraging others not to use 
them--we may be able to keep our young people and our communities safe 
from the scourge of drugs.
  I urge my colleagues to give this bill--and this issue--their strong 
and sustained support.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor of North Carolina). The question 
is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 956, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________