[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7716-H7719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SPEED TRAFFICKING LIFE IN PRISON ACT OF 1998

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3898) to amend the Controlled Substances Act and the 
Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to conform penalties for 
violations involving certain amounts of methamphetamine to penalties 
for violations involving similar amounts cocaine base, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3898

       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 ``Speed Trafficking Life In 
     Prison Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. METHAMPHETAMINE TRAFFICKING PENALTY ADJUSTMENTS.

       (a) Amendments to the Controlled Substances Act.--The 
     Controlled Substances Act is amended--
       (1) in section 401(b)(1)(A)(viii) (21 U.S.C. 
     841(b)(1)(A)(viii)) by--
       (A) striking ``100 grams'' and inserting ``50 grams''; and
       (B) striking ``1 kilogram'' and inserting ``500 grams''; 
     and
       (2) in section 401(b)(1)(B)(viii) (21 U.S.C. 
     841(b)(1)(B)(viii)) by--
       (A) striking ``10 grams'' and inserting ``5 grams''; and
       (B) striking ``100 grams'' and inserting ``50 grams''.
       (b) Amendments to the Controlled Substances Import and 
     Export Act.--The Controlled Substances Import and Export Act 
     is amended--
       (1) in section 1010(b)(1)(H) (21 U.S.C. 960(b)(1)(H)) by--
       (A) striking ``100 grams'' and inserting ``50 grams'';
       (B) striking ``1 kilogram'' and inserting ``500 grams''; 
     and
       (C) striking the period at the end and inserting a 
     semicolon; and
       (2) in section 1010(b)(2)(H) (21 U.S.C. 960(b)(2)(H)) by--
       (A) striking ``10 grams'' and inserting ``5 grams'';
       (B) striking ``100 grams'' and inserting ``50 grams''; and
       (C) striking the period at the end and inserting a 
     semicolon.

     SEC. 3. PREPARATION OF AN IMPACT STATEMENT.

       The United States Sentencing Commission shall prepare a 
     statement analyzing the impact of the sentences imposed as a 
     result of the amendments made by this Act and present that 
     analysis to Congress not later than one year after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. McCollum) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Delahunt) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum).


                             General Leave

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 
3898, the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3898, the Speed Trafficking Life In Prison Act of 
1998, increases the penalties for manufacturing, trafficking or 
importing methamphetamine. It was introduced on May 19, 1998 by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions) and reported favorably by the 
Committee on the Judiciary on July 21. It represents an important step 
by this Congress to respond to the methamphetamine epidemic.
  As members of the subcommittee well know, methamphetamine is no 
longer merely a California problem or a southwest problem, it is a 
national problem. It has spread east, devastating some communities much 
like crack cocaine did in the 1980s. The testimony received by the 
House Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary in recent 
years paints a grim picture of an emerging epidemic: Emergency room 
methamphetamine episodes in major metropolitan areas have increased 
dramatically. Methamphetamine deaths around the country have 
skyrocketed, and clandestine methamphetamine labs have now been 
reported in all 50 States.
  There are numerous unique problems associated with methamphetamine. 
The profits involved in the methamphetamine trade are enormous. 
Methamphetamine causes longer highs than cocaine. Methamphetamine is 
processed in clandestine labs, often located in remote areas, making 
them difficult to detect. And the numerous highly toxic chemicals used 
to manufacture methamphetamine are extremely flammable and destructive 
to the environment.

[[Page H7717]]

  Over the last 8 years, sophisticated drug organizations from Mexico 
have replaced motorcycle gangs as the major methamphetamine producers 
and traffickers. These organizations have established large clandestine 
labs throughout the Southwest and have saturated the western U.S. 
market with high purity methamphetamine, leading to lower prices. The 
1994 methamphetamine related murder of DEA agent Richard Fass is a 
sober reminder of the violence associated with methamphetamine 
trafficking. In short, methamphetamine represents a dangerous, time-
consuming, and expensive investigative challenge to law enforcement.
  H.R. 3898 increases the penalties for manufacturing, trafficking or 
importing methamphetamine so as to make those penalties the same as for 
crack cocaine. It does so by reducing by one-half the quantity of 
methamphetamine required to trigger the mandatory minimum sentences 
established in current law. Under current law, 100 grams of 
methamphetamine triggers the 10-year mandatory minimum, and 10 grams 
triggers the 5-year mandatory minimum. In both cases, under current 
law, an offender with prior felony drug offenses can receive life in 
prison. So can an offender when the use of the methamphetamine leads to 
the death or serious bodily injury of another. Under this bill, 50 
grams triggers a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence, and 5 grams 
of methamphetamine triggers a 5-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. 
These sentences are identical to those called for in the 
administration's 1996 methamphetamine strategy. Furthermore, the House 
of Representatives passed an identical provision last Congress as a 
part of H.R. 3852, the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 
1996. Unfortunately, the Senate version of this same bill did not 
include this penalty enhancement provision and it did not become law.
  I want to close with an observation. Reports released in recent 
months show that cocaine use nationally continues to decline slightly, 
while methamphetamine use continues to increase. A little more than a 
decade ago, Congress responded to the emerging cocaine epidemic by 
moving bipartisan legislation which provided tough mandatory minimum 
penalties for those who manufacture and traffic cocaine. I have no 
doubt that those tough penalties saved lives, in part because they sent 
a message to younger generations that trafficking cocaine deserves 
society's strongest condemnation. And while cocaine trafficking and use 
remain unacceptably high, they are declining.
  Today, Congress once again has the opportunity to take action, 
bipartisan action, regarding an emerging epidemic: The methamphetamine 
crisis. Let us send a clear message today, as we did then: 
Methamphetamine trafficking deserves our strongest condemnation.
  I join the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions), the author of this 
bill, the administration, and the 386 Members of this body who voted 
for it in the last Congress in supporting this important bill and urge 
its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this legislation. But before I 
proceed with a statement, I do want to acknowledge and commend the 
bill's sponsor, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions), for his 
sincere and genuine effort in terms of dealing with this issue. 
Although he and I disagree, I do want to acknowledge that he has worked 
cooperatively and hard on this issue, and I know his heart is in the 
right place. Unfortunately, this is not the right answer. Once again, 
Congress is taking upon itself the role that it wisely assigned to the 
sentencing commission to establish appropriate sentences within the 
sentencing guidelines for a broad range of Federal offenses.
  We do have a drug problem in this country, and it is a serious 
problem. We all recognize that. But serious problems require serious 
solutions, and this is not the answer. We have absolutely no evidence, 
no data, and none has been presented, to suggest that cutting by half 
the amount of methamphetamine it will take to trigger the current 5- 
and 10-year mandatory minimums will have any measurable effect on the 
problem. None.
  The only thing we can predict with certainty is that lowering the 
threshold will waste precious resources incarcerating people for 
relatively minor nonviolent offenses, resources that are needed to lock 
up offenders. In other words, Mr. Speaker, we will be putting the wrong 
people in jail.
  While it might make sense to impose lengthy sentences on high-level 
dealers, these mandatory minimums allow for no such distinctions to be 
made. Whether the offender has 5 grams or 10 grams in his possession 
does not tell us very much about the situation with which we are 
dealing, yet these laws allow the judge to consider no other factors in 
pronouncing sentences and often give no leeway or discretion to the 
prosecutor in terms of the charging decision. Again, let me suggest 
that we will be putting the wrong people in jail.
  Last year a RAND study of cocaine sentencing policy found that the 
mandatory minimum sentences are not effective in reducing either drug 
consumption or drug-related crime. The study concluded that it would be 
more cost effective, it would make sense, to spend the same money on 
drug enforcement and drug treatment programs.
  Nearly half of the drug offenders sentenced to long mandatory 
sentences in Massachusetts' state prisons have no record of violent 
crime. It simply makes no sense to spend $30,000 to $40,000 a year to 
keep these people in jail, often for terms that are far greater than 
the times served for criminals convicted of manslaughter, armed 
robbery, rape and the whole array of violent crimes.

                              {time}  1315

  Violent predators are being released in favor of drug addicts. Yet 
these anomalous results will continue to occur if Congress insists on 
intruding into the sentencing process wherever the spirit or the polls 
inspire us to do so. This simply makes no sense, Mr. Speaker. I urge 
this House to think about that, to think about our present course.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I simply want to address the concerns some people have said that the 
bill does not address the simple possession of methamphetamine. 
Paragraph (a) in the bill addresses the manufacture, distribution or 
trafficking of meth and the possession of meth with the intent to 
manufacture, distribute or traffic. Paragraph (b) addresses the 
importing and exporting of meth or the possession of meth with the 
intent to import or export. Therefore, under current law, title 18, 
section 841 and title XXI, section 990 and under this bill, no one 
could be prosecuted for a simple possession.
  Let us be perfectly clear. This bill increases penalties on those who 
knowingly import, manufacture and traffic a drug that is as insidious 
as crack cocaine and more dangerous in certain respects. We do not add 
any new penalties in this bill. We simply put the penalties of 
methamphetamine up to a level, the same as crack cocaine. We are not 
adding anything in the broad sense of the law. To a great extent, 
methamphetamine is a homegrown operation. That is to say, it is made in 
kitchens and backyard makeshift labs all around the country. It is a 
fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants operation posing numerous dangers. The 
chemicals used to manufacture meth are enormously destructive to the 
environment, extremely toxic and pose huge dangers to human life. 
Furthermore, the labs are increasingly booby-trapped, putting the lives 
of our law enforcement agents on the line. Methamphetamine-related 
defendants are overwhelmingly white. The administration supports this 
bill. These increased penalties were called for in the administration's 
methamphetamine strategy and sent to Congress by Attorney General Reno 
and Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Sessions), the author of this bill.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, today we are considering H.R. 3898, the 
Speed Trafficking Life in Prison Act of 1998. Mr. Speaker, clearly we 
are in the middle of a crisis in our country. Methamphetamine 
trafficking in this country is at an all-time high and it seems like 
that we have got to do something

[[Page H7718]]

about it. That is why I drafted H.R. 3898 which will cut in half the 
amounts of methamphetamine in the Controlled Substances Act necessary 
to invoke the most severe penalties.
  Many of our colleagues know from their work in the war against drugs, 
also are aware of this, and sometimes they call methamphetamines other 
things. It is often known as ``speed,'' ``ice,'' or ``crank,'' and it 
causes severe side effects and can result in death. After prolonged 
use, methamphetamine leads to binging, often causing users to consume 
the drug continuously for up to 3 days without sleeping. Following the 
binge is severe depression, followed by worsening paranoia, 
belligerence, and aggression which is known as ``tweaking.'' Then the 
user collapses from exhaustion, waking up days later simply to begin 
the cycle again.
  The new ephendrine-based methamphetamine is worse, however. It leads 
to sleepless binges that can last up to 15 days and end in crashes that 
are far worse than those with regular methamphetamine. These crashes 
not only cause the loss of life and the spirit in our children, but 
they bring about violence and disruptive behaviors that endanger 
families and everyone in America's communities.
  I am unwilling to accept this behavior and have begun my fight so 
that we will not accept this that is happening to our country. I hope 
that my colleagues are listening and that Americans are with us as we 
join in this continued fight against drugs in our country.
  On July 21, 1997, I held a congressional hearing in my district, the 
Fifth Congressional District of Texas, at Mesquite High School, to 
discuss the problem of illegal drug trafficking and what our national, 
State and local leaders were doing about it. Testimony from the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, known as the DEA, clearly demonstrated that 
the new wave of methamphetamine use was attacking our country and also 
was coming across our borders. According to the 1996 National Household 
Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 4.9 million people, which is 2.3 
percent of the population, have tried methamphetamines at some time in 
their lives. Data from the 1996 Drug Warning Abuse Network, which 
collects information on drug-related episodes from hospital emergency 
departments in 21 metropolitan areas, reported that methamphetamine-
related episodes increased 71 percent between the first half of 1996 
and the second half of 1996, or, put in numbers, from 4,000 to 6,800.
  Too often, I believe we point to foreign countries as the sources of 
dangerous drugs to our children and Americans. But with 
methamphetamine, the drug can be manufactured easily within our own 
borders. It is what I call a ``made in America'' product. It has 
catastrophic consequences to our environment and puts first responders, 
our men and women in law enforcement and firefighters, in grave danger 
from fires and explosion.
  That is why I drafted H.R. 3898, the Speed Trafficking Life in Prison 
Act of 1998, to put those who manufacture or distribute methamphetamine 
in prison for as long as possible. Those who abuse drugs should take 
responsibility for their actions, but there are also victims. They are 
victims of drug thugs, the killers who put this stuff on our streets 
and in our communities. It is those people that we are aiming our 
legislation at.
  I hope and urge all of my colleagues to support this reasonable 
approach to dealing with drugs that are killing our children.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. I want to again 
commend the gentleman from Texas for bringing this resolution to the 
floor. Methamphetamine is an increasingly dangerous drug. We are going 
to have a lot of discussions on the floor of the House in the next 
couple of days about very dangerous drugs, cocaine, heroin and the 
like. But we must not forget that those are all grown and we have to 
worry about controlling those and getting those imported into our 
country from abroad. We have an enormous task ahead on that score. But 
methamphetamine, sadly, those drugs can be produced in laboratories, in 
households around the country. This bill is exceedingly important to 
get our kids and other folks to stop making this stuff, stop using it. 
It is dangerous. We need to send a message. We need to send the penalty 
message that is in this bill on methamphetamine. I strongly urge the 
adoption of this bill today.
  Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3898, the 
Speed Trafficking Life in Prison Act. I am proud to be an original 
cosponsor of this legislation and I would like to thank its author, 
Representative Pete Sessions, and the Subcommittee Chairman, 
Representative Bill McCollum, for their hard work on this very serious 
issue.
  Like most Americans, and as a parent, I am deeply troubled by the 
high rates of violent and drug related crime that has such a 
devastating effect on our neighborhoods. The drug problem strikes at 
the very core of a community, putting our young people at risk and 
undermining our safety, our schools, our peace of mind, our way of 
life.
  The dramatic rise in the manufacture and trafficking of 
methamphetamine is one of the most disturbing trends. Highly addictive 
and cheap to manufacture, methamphetamine has become one of the most 
widely trafficked illicit drugs. The problem is particularly severe in 
my home state of Missouri, which now ranks number one in the country 
for clandestine methamphetamine lab busts--more than 700 in 1997--and 
second only to California in methamphetamine production. Furthermore, 
of the 290 meth labs that were raided and seized last year in a 5-state 
radius, over 230 of those were in Missouri. This year alone, there have 
been more than 88 labs seized in my District in Southern Missouri.
  There is much to do to fight the war on drugs, and this legislation 
is a very important part of that fight. It is a powerful tool to give 
to prosecutors and also a powerful message to send to drug criminals. 
It is a clear statement that meth dealers will be met by a swift and 
severe response, the full force of the law. The new minimum sentencing 
standards established in the bill will ensure that the thugs putting 
meth out on our streets will receive a fitting punishment for their 
crime.
  I urge a strong ``YES'' vote on this important legislation.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3898, the 
Speed Trafficking Life in Prison Act, and I commend the gentleman from 
Texas, Mr. Sessions, for bringing this important piece of legislation 
to our attention today.
  As Chairman of the International Relations Committee, I have long 
worked to try and keep drugs from entering the United States and I 
fully support Mr. Session's  efforts to increase the minimum jail 
sentence for those individuals who think that they can get away with 
manufacturing, trafficking or transporting methamphetamines in this 
country.
  This legislation finally equals the field between methamphetamines, 
or speed, and cocaine. For many years, young people have tried to 
justify the use of methamphetamines because they do not believe that 
they are as dangerous as cocaine or crack. This bill sends a clear 
message to all Americans that methamphetamines are just as dangerous 
and deadly as crack cocaine and that those people who manufacture, 
traffic or transport these drugs should be held to the fullest extent 
of the law.
  H.R. 3898 establishes that 50 grams of methamphetamines triggers a 
10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence and five grams triggers a 
five-year mandatory minimum, equal to the penalties for crack cocaine. 
Voting for this bill will help to dissuade the trafficking of speed in 
our country and hopefully will cut down on the number of speed related 
abuse, trafficking, and deaths. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to 
fully support this measure to help keep these dangerous drugs off of 
our streets.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member is pleased to rise today to 
express strong support for H.R. 3898, the Speed Trafficking Life in 
Prison Act. This important legislation increases the penalties for 
manufacturing, trafficking, or importing methamphetamines to the same 
level as corresponding penalties for crack cocaine.
  Methamphetamine is a powerful drug that is relatively easy to 
manufacture. The use of this dangerous drug is escalating rapidly due 
to its low cost and highly addictive qualities. The methamphetamine 
problem in Nebraska is clearly growing at a substantive rate. For 
example, in 1996, multi-jurisdictional drug task forces made 248 
methamphetamine arrests in Nebraska. In 1997, there were 714 arrests. 
Additionally, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Omaha, last 
year, Nebraska led the nation in methamphetamine cases prosecuted in 
Federal courts with 61 cases involving 98 defendants.
  This legislation would reduce by half the amount of methamphetamine 
necessary to trigger the mandatory minimum sentences established by 
current law. Under H.R. 3898, an

[[Page H7719]]

offender possessing 50 grams of methamphetamine would trigger a 10-year 
mandatory minimum prison sentence. If the offender was convicted of 
possessing 5 grams of methamphetamine, he or she would receive a 5-year 
mandatory minimum sentence.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, we must pass this bill in the short time 
left in this session of Congress. It must also be passed by the Senate 
with these tough but appropriate sentencing provisions so that it can 
be sent to the President for signature. The Nation must become serious 
and effective in combating this very dangerous problem. This bill must 
become law this year in order to do all we can do to fight the use of 
this dangerous drug. This Member urges his colleagues to support H.R. 
3898.

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the passage 
of this bill, because I believe we should be moving away from the 
imposition of mandatory minimum sentences, and also because I want to 
avoid creating further racial inequalities in our Federal drug policy.
  This bill lowers the amount of methamphetamine that a person must 
possess in order to trigger mandatory minimum sentences required under 
the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In effect, it cuts that triggering 
amount in half, giving methamphetamine a status roughly equal to that 
of crack cocaine.
  I am against restricting the role of the judges in the courtroom. 
Mandatory minimum sentences, like the sentencing guidelines, take 
discretion away from impartial Federal judges, and put it in the hands 
of the prosecutors.
  The more we allow mandatory minimums to become a part of everyday 
courtroom life, the more power we place in the hands of prosecutors who 
have a vested interest in the outcome of the case.

  In committee, I expressed concern that this bill would cause us to 
walk into essentially the same controversy that we had just a few years 
ago, when it involved African-Americans and the sentencing disparities 
between crack and powder cocaine. I am especially concerned because 
there has been some debate whether this bill would disproportionately 
impact the Mexican-American community in the United States.
  The bill was amended in the Judiciary Committee to provide for a 
report by the Sentencing Commission one year after enactment of this 
bill, but by then, a significant amount of damage will already have 
been inflicted.
  I do not want to be a part of a bill, which specifically targets a 
minority group, and then gives an extreme amount of discretion to the 
federal authorities charged with pursuing them.
  I also oppose this bill because it is unnecessary. There have been 
reports that in the last few years, that we have seen an actual 
decrease in the use of methamphetamine. For instance, the Substance 
Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that 
emergency room admissions for methamphetamine-related events has 
decreased one-third.
  I oppose this bill because I think we can do better than this. I 
believe we can win the war on drugs, by stressing treatment and 
prevention, and without alienating an important group of citizens from 
our society.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 3898, the 
Speed Trafficking Life In Prison Act. Recently, we have witnessed a 
drastic increase in the use of illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, 
marijuana and methamphetamines in this country. The crisis continues 
and, unfortunately, our children are the victims.
  Methamphetamine is currently a popular ``designer drug'' of choice 
which causes severe side effects and can result in death. A 1996 
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse shows that 4.9 million people 
have tried methamphetamine at some time in their lives. In a report of 
combined data from 21-metropolitan areas across our nation, the 
statistics show that methamphetamine related episodes in hospital 
emergency rooms increased by 71% between the first and second halves of 
1996. That is an increase from 4,000 to almost 7,000 reported incidents 
over a six month period. The situation is alarming and spinning out of 
control. We must penalize those that are putting this poison on our 
streets.
  H.R. 3898 strengthens the penalties for manufacturing, trafficking or 
importing methamphetamine--making penalties equal to those for crack 
cocaine--and imposes life imprisonment sentences for those that 
manufacture or distribute methamphetamine. This legislation also 
reduces the quantity of methamphetamine required to trigger the 
mandatory minimum sentences by one-half and establishes that 50 grams 
triggers a 10-year mandatory minimum.
  It is time to send a clear message to those drug dealers that 
threaten our communities. Tough penalties must be imposed on those who 
deal in destruction of lives and death. I ask my colleagues to join 
with me in support of this measure as we continue to wage a war on 
drugs to save our children and every American from the plague of 
methamphetamines now sweeping across our land.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Calvert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3898, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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