[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 52 (Friday, May 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4038-S4040]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ASHCROFT:
  S. 2028. A bill to amend the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 
1988 to extend the authorization for the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy until September 30, 2000, to expand the responsibilities 
and powers of the Director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


      the drug czar responsibility and accountability act of 1998

  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I am introducing today the Drug Czar 
Responsibility and Accountability Act. It adds to the responsibilities 
of the drug czar's office the establishment of Federal policies, goals 
and performance measures, including specific reduction targets.
  Why is such a measure needed? Consider this: Overall illicit drug use 
among children age 12 to 17 was 5.3 percent when the President took 
office. In 1996, it was 9 percent. That is an increase of 70 percent 
since 1993. Now, the President proposes to cut drug use by 20 percent 
by the year 2002. In other words, 2 years after the President wants to 
leave office, he hopes to get teen drug use to only 128 percent of 
where it was when he took office.
  I happen to have been a Boy Scout. I think most of us in the Chamber 
have had some association with scouting. We either hauled kids to the 
campfires, to the Brownies, or to the Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts. The 
fundamental principle of scouting is you always leave the campground a 
little better than you found it.
  Here we have a President who, in terms of teen drug use, wants to set 
as a goal that there will be 128 percent of the drug use that there was 
when he came into office, and that goal isn't even supposed to be 
attained until 2 years after he leaves office.
  I don't think we will ever achieve greatness in our culture if we 
don't at least aspire to good things. Our opportunity is to leave the 
campground better than we found it, not worse than we found it, and 
certainly not 128 percent worse than we found it. We cannot defer 
maintenance of the campground until after we are gone.
  The tradition of America is to provide to the next generation a 
broader set of opportunities, a brighter set of horizons than we have 
ever known before. That should not be forgotten when we talk about 
curtailing the scourge of drugs on our young people.
  Here we have a President who wants to instruct a drug czar to ratchet 
the drug problem all the way back to 128 percent of what it was when he 
started and not to get that done until 2 years after he leaves office. 
I think it is disgraceful.
  Mr. President, because of my concern for combating underage drug use, 
I will also offer an amendment to the tobacco bill when it comes to the 
Senate floor to make certain the epidemic of underage illegal drug use 
is addressed in that respect. My amendment will allow States to use 
tobacco settlement funds for anti-illegal drug and law enforcement 
purposes, not just teen smoking programs.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2028

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT REFERENCES.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Drug Czar 
     Responsibility and Accountability Act of 1998''.
       (b) Amendment References.--Except as otherwise expressly 
     provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
     expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a 
     section or other provision, the reference shall be considered 
     to be made to a section or other provision of the National 
     Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Overall drug use among children aged 12 to 17 in 1992 
     was 5.3 percent. In 1996, it was 9 percent, an increase of 70 
     percent.
       (2) Use of any illicit drug among 8th graders in 1992 was 
     12.9 percent. In 1997, it was 22.1 percent, an increase of 71 
     percent.
       (3) Use of any illicit drug among 10th graders in 1992 was 
     20.4 percent. In 1997, it was 38.5 percent, an increase of 91 
     percent.
       (4) Use of any illicit drug among 12th graders in 1992 was 
     27.1 percent. In 1997, it was 42.4 percent, an increase of 56 
     percent.
       (5) Use of marijuana among 8th graders in 1992 was 3.7 
     percent. In 1997, it was 10.2 percent, an increase of 176 
     percent.
       (6) Use of marijuana among children aged 12 to 17 in 1992 
     was 3.4 percent. In 1996, it was 7.1 percent, an increase of 
     109 percent.
       (7) Use of cocaine among children aged 12 to 17 in 1992 was 
     0.3 percent. In 1996, it was 0.6 percent, an increase of 100 
     percent.
       (8) Marijuana-related medical emergencies in 1992 totaled 
     23,997. In 1996, there were 50,037 such emergencies, an 
     increase of 108 percent.
       (9) Cocaine-related medical emergencies in 1992 totaled 
     119,843. In 1996, there were 144,180 such emergencies, an 
     increase of 20 percent.
       (10) Heroin-related medical emergencies in 1992 totaled 
     48,003. In 1996, there were 70,463 such emergencies, an 
     increase of 47 percent.

     SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTOR.

       (a) Expansion of Responsibilities.--Section 1003(b) (21 
     U.S.C. 1502(b)) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
       ``(1) establish Federal policies, objectives, goals, 
     priorities, and performance measures (including specific 
     annual agency targets expressed in terms of precise 
     percentages) for the National Drug Control Program and for 
     each National Drug Control Program agency, which shall 
     include targets for reducing the levels of overall unlawful 
     drug use, adolescent unlawful drug use, and drug-related 
     emergency room incidents to January 19, 1993 levels;'';
       (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
       ``(3) coordinate, oversee, and evaluate the effectiveness 
     of the implementation of the policies, objectives, goals, 
     performance measures, and priorities established under 
     paragraph (1) and the fulfillment of the responsibilities of 
     the National Drug Control Program agencies under the National 
     Drug Control Strategy;'';
       (3) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``and nongovernmental 
     entities involved in demand reduction'' after 
     ``governments'';
       (4) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (5) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting a semicolon; and
       (6) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(9) require each National Drug Control Program agency to 
     submit to the Director on a semi-annual basis (beginning with 
     the first 6 months of 1999) an evaluation of progress by the 
     agency with respect to drug control program goals using the 
     performance measures referred to in paragraph (1), including 
     progress with respect to--
       ``(A) success in reducing domestic and foreign sources of 
     illegal drugs;
       ``(B) success in protecting the borders of the United 
     States (and in particular the Southwestern border of the 
     United States) from penetration by illegal narcotics;
       ``(C) success in reducing violent crime associated with 
     drug use in the United States;
       ``(D) success in reducing the negative health and social 
     consequences of drug use in the United States; and
       ``(E) implementation of drug treatment and prevention 
     programs in the United States and improvements in the 
     adequacy and effectiveness of such programs;
       ``(10) submit to Congress on a semiannual basis, not later 
     than 60 days after the date of the last day of the applicable 
     6-month period, a summary of--
       ``(A) each evaluation received by the Director under 
     paragraph (9); and
       ``(B) the progress of each National Drug Control Program 
     agency toward the drug control program goals of the agency 
     using the performance measures described in paragraph (1);
       ``(11) require the National Drug Control Program agencies 
     to submit to the Director not later than February 1 of each 
     year a detailed accounting of all funds expended by the 
     agencies for National Drug Control Program activities during 
     the previous fiscal

[[Page S4039]]

     year, and require such accounting to be authenticated by the 
     Inspector General for each agency prior to submission to the 
     Director;
       ``(12) submit to Congress not later than April 1 of each 
     year the information submitted to the Director under 
     paragraph (11);
       ``(13) submit to Congress not later than August 1 of each 
     year a report including--
       ``(A) the budget guidance provided by the Director to each 
     National Drug Control Program agency for the fiscal year in 
     which the report is submitted and for the other fiscal years 
     within the applicable 5-year budget plan relating to such 
     fiscal year; and
       ``(B) a summary of the request of each National Drug 
     Control Program agency to the Director under this Act (prior 
     to review of the request by the Office of Management and 
     Budget) for the resources required to achieve the targets of 
     the agency under this Act;
       ``(14) act as a representative of the President before 
     Congress on all aspects of the National Drug Control Program;
       ``(15) act as the primary spokesperson of the President on 
     drug issues;
       ``(16) make recommendations to National Drug Control 
     Program agency heads with respect to implementation of 
     Federal counter-drug programs;
       ``(17) take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt 
     to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that--
       ``(A) is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the 
     Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and
       ``(B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by 
     the Food and Drug Administration; and
       ``(18) ensure that drug prevention and drug treatment 
     research and information is effectively disseminated by 
     National Drug Control Program agencies to State and local 
     governments and nongovernmental entities involved in demand 
     reduction by--
       ``(A) encouraging formal consultation between any such 
     agency that conducts or sponsors research, and any such 
     agency that disseminates information in developing research 
     and information product development agendas;
       ``(B) encouraging such agencies (as appropriate) to develop 
     and implement dissemination plans that specifically target 
     State and local governments and nongovernmental entities 
     involved in demand reduction; and
       ``(C) developing a single interagency clearinghouse for the 
     dissemination of research and information by such agencies to 
     State and local governments and nongovernmental agencies 
     involved in demand reduction.''.
       (b) Survey of Drug Use.--
       (1) In general.--The University of Michigan shall not be 
     prohibited under any law from conducting the survey of drug 
     use among young people in the United States known as the 
     Monitoring the Future Survey.
       (2) Other surveys.--The National Parents' Resource 
     Institute for Drug Education in Atlanta, Georgia, shall not 
     be prohibited under any law from conducting the survey of 
     drug use among young people in the United States known as the 
     National PRIDE Survey.

     SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF POWERS OF DIRECTOR.

       Section 1003(d) (21 U.S.C. 1502(d)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting 
     a semicolon; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(10) require the heads of National Drug Control Program 
     agencies to provide the Director with statistics, studies, 
     reports, and any other information regarding Federal control 
     of drug abuse;
       ``(11) require the heads of National Drug Control Program 
     agencies to provide the Director with information regarding 
     any position (before an individual is nominated for such 
     position) that--
       ``(A) relates to the National Drug Control Program;
       ``(B) is at or above the level of Deputy Assistant 
     Secretary; and
       ``(C) involves responsibility for Federal counternarcotics 
     or antidrug programs; and
       ``(12) make recommendations to the National Drug 
     Intelligence Center on the specific projects that the 
     Director determines will enhance the effectiveness of 
     implementation of the National Drug Control Strategy.''.

     SEC. 5. SUBMISSION OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY.

       (a) In General.--Section 1005(a) (21 U.S.C. 1504(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) include comprehensive, research-based, specific, 
     long-range goals and performance measures (including specific 
     annual targets expressed in terms of precise percentages) for 
     reducing drug abuse and the consequences of drug abuse in the 
     United States;'';
       (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (C) by striking subparagraph (D);
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) include 4-year projections for National Drug Control 
     Program priorities (including budget priorities); and
       ``(E) review international, Federal, State, local, and 
     private sector drug control activities to ensure that the 
     United States pursues well-coordinated and effective drug 
     control at all levels of government.'';
       (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking clauses (iv) and (v) 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(iv) private citizens and organizations with experience 
     and expertise in demand reduction;
       ``(v) private citizens and organizations with experience 
     and expertise in supply reduction; and
       ``(vi) appropriate representatives of foreign 
     governments.'';
       (3) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking clauses (i) through 
     (vi) and inserting the following:
       ``(i) the quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, 
     methamphetamine, ecstasy, and rohypnol available for 
     consumption in the United States;
       ``(ii) the amount of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, ecstasy, 
     rohypnol, methamphetamine, and precursor chemicals entering 
     the United States;
       ``(iii) the number of hectares of marijuana, poppy, and 
     coca cultivated and destroyed domestically and in other 
     countries;
       ``(iv) the number of metric tons of marijuana, cocaine, 
     heroin, and methamphetamine seized;
       ``(v) the number of cocaine and methamphetamine processing 
     labs destroyed domestically and in other countries;
       ``(vi) changes in the price and purity of heroin and 
     cocaine, changes in price of methamphetamine, and changes in 
     tetrahydrocannabinol level of marijuana;'';
       (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) assessment of the cultivation of illegal drugs in the 
     United States.''; and
       (4) in paragraph (5)--
       (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
     ``February 1, 1995'' and inserting ``February 1, 1999'';
       (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
     ``second'';
       (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (D) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (E) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) a description of the National Drug Control Program 
     performance measures described in subsection (a)(2)(A).''.
       (b) Goals and Performance Measures for National Drug 
     Control Strategy.--Section 1005(b) (21 U.S.C. 1504(b)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in the heading, by striking ``, Objectives, and 
     Priorities'' and inserting ``and Performance Measures'';
       (2) in the matter after the heading, by inserting ``(1)'' 
     before ``Each National Drug Control Strategy'';
       (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as 
     subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively;
       (4) in subparagraph (A) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), 
     by striking ``and priorities'' and inserting ``and 
     performance measures'';
       (5) in subparagraph (C) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), 
     by striking ``3-year projections'' and inserting ``4-year 
     projections''; and
       (6) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) In establishing the performance measures required by 
     this subsection, the Director shall--
       ``(A) establish performance measures and targets expressed 
     in terms of precise percentages for each National Drug 
     Control Strategy goal and objective;
       ``(B) revise such performance measures and targets as 
     necessary, and reflect such performance measures and targets 
     in the National Drug Control Program budget submitted to 
     Congress;
       ``(C) consult with affected National Drug Control Program 
     agencies;
       ``(D) identify programs and activities of National Drug 
     Control Program agencies that support the goals of the 
     National Drug Control Strategy;
       ``(E) evaluate in detail the implementation by each 
     National Drug Control Program agency of program activities 
     supporting the National Drug Control Strategy;
       ``(F) monitor consistency between the drug-related goals of 
     the National Drug Control Program agencies and ensure that 
     drug control agency goals and budgets fully support, and are 
     fully consistent with, the National Drug Control Strategy;
       ``(G) coordinate the development and implementation of 
     national drug control data collection and reporting systems 
     to support Federal policy formulation and performance 
     measurement;
       ``(H) ensure that no Federal drug control funds are 
     expended for any study or contract relating to the 
     legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a 
     substance listed in schedule I of section 202 of the 
     Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and
       ``(I) ensure that no Federal funds appropriated for the 
     High Intensity Drug Trafficking Program are expended for the 
     expansion of drug treatment programs.''.

     SEC. 6. REPORT ON DESIGNATION OF HIGH INTENSITY DRUG 
                   TRAFFICKING AREAS.

       Section 1005(c)(3) (21 U.S.C. 1504(c)(3)) is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(3) Annual report.--Not later than March 1 of each year, 
     the Director shall submit to Congress a report--
       ``(A) on the effectiveness of, and need for, the 
     designation of areas under this subsection as high intensity 
     drug trafficking areas; and
       ``(B) that includes any recommendations of the Director for 
     legislative action with respect to such designation.''.

[[Page S4040]]

     SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 1011 (21 U.S.C. 1508) is amended by striking ``8 
     succeeding fiscal years'' and inserting ``10 succeeding 
     fiscal years''.

     SEC. 8. REPORT REQUIRED.

       Not later than November 1, 1998, the Director of the Office 
     of National Drug Control Policy shall submit to Congress a 
     report including--
       (1) proposed goals, targets, performance measures (as 
     described in section 1003(b)(1) of the National Narcotics 
     Leadership Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C. 1502(b)(1))), and specific 
     initiatives with respect to the National Drug Control 
     Program, including the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area 
     Program; and
       (2) proposals to coordinate the efforts of all National 
     Drug Control Program agencies.

     SEC. 9. CONSISTENCY WITH NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947.

       Section 1004 (21 U.S.C. 1503) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``(1)'';
       (B) by striking ``(2)(A)'' and inserting ``(b) Consistency 
     With National Security Act of 1947.--(1)'';
       (C) by striking ``(B)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
       (D) by striking ``subparagraph (A)'' and inserting 
     ``paragraph (1)''; and
       (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections 
     (c) and (d), respectively.

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