[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 15, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7018-S7019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DRUG PROBLEM IN RIO ARRIBA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the drug 
problem which is plaguing the northern part of my home state--a problem 
which has had particularly profound effects on the quality of life and 
the health of the citizens in an area known as Rio Arriba County, New 
Mexico.
  Simply put, Rio Arriba County faces one of the most severe black tar 
heroin epidemics this nation has ever seen. In recent years, there have 
been 44 heroin overdose deaths in this small county--more per capita 
than any other area of the country. Last year, New Mexico led the 
nation in per capita heroin overdose deaths, and Rio Arriba County led 
New Mexico.
  Just this weekend, one of the local papers printed a story about the 
black tar heroin epidemic in northern New Mexico, and the reporter 
interviewed several heroin addicts. Two of these addicts died of 
overdoses between the time they were interviewed and the time the story 
was printed. That is how acute the problem is.
  Rio Arriba County is a rural community with close to 40,000 
inhabitants. Many of those who reside in this small county have family 
who have lived there for several generations. Neighbors don't just know 
each other--they know each other's entire families and their family's 
history in the area.
  This is a close-knit community, one which recognizes that it must 
band together to beat this problem. Families, political leaders, 
community institutions and public safety and heath experts must work 
together in cooperative fashion to rid this area of the scourge of 
heroin.
  Earlier this year, I mentioned this problem to Attorney General Janet 
Reno, and she committed to help coordinate the federal response to the 
heroin epidemic in northern New Mexico.
  After speaking with Attorney General Reno, I later convened a field 
hearing in Espanola, New Mexico in Rio Arriba County to begin to bring 
people together at the local, state and federal levels to see what 
could be done. The hearing was held under the auspices of the Commerce, 
State, Justice subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, 
chaired by Senator Gregg. I want to thank Senator Gregg for agreeing to 
the hearing, and for his commitment to providing the necessary federal 
resources to begin to address the problem.
  At the field hearing, we heard from Laurie Robinson, Associate 
Attorney General for Justice Programs, who has since sent a technical 
assistance team to the area to meet with state and local officials, 
treatment providers, and community groups in order to begin to 
formulate a comprehensive plan to attack the problem. This technical 
assistance team returns to the county this week to continue its 
efforts, and I expect them to issue an action plan by mid-July.
  This plan will include recommendations on how the county can best 
coordinate local drug treatment and intervention efforts, and take 
advantage of new federal resources made available in recent months.
  I want to commend the Department of Justice, Attorney General Reno, 
and her partners in this effort--the National Institute on Drug Abuse 
(NIDA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA), as well as New Mexico's Department of Health 
and Human Services, which has worked closely with the federal team.
  Their comprehensive effort will ensure that we don't simply throw 
money at this problem and hope that it goes away. I believe that the 
strategy they produce will have a lasting, positive impact on the 
substance abuse problem in Rio Arriba County.
  The strategy will include new federal resources for prevention, 
treatment and law enforcement, and I want to outline federal efforts to 
date to combat this problem.
  In addition to bringing in the Department of Justice team to 
coordinate federal resources, in April, I convinced the Senate to 
include $750,000 in the emergency supplemental appropriations bill to 
allow Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and San Juan counties to participate in the 
New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).

  Expanding the New Mexico HIDTA will allow state and local law 
enforcement officials to enhance their efforts to rid northern New 
Mexico of drug traffickers, many of whom are Mexican nationals who 
bring the heroin to New Mexico through the crime corridor between the 
southwest border and Rio Arriba County.
  Because a crime corridor exists in New Mexico, with the help of 
Senator Gregg, the Committee also included $5 million in this year's 
Commerce, State, Justice appropriations bill for a pilot project 
through the United States Attorney's office in New Mexico.
  Much of the heroin brought into northern New Mexico comes up 
Interstate 10 from Mexico between Las Cruces and Albuquerque. This 
pilot project will allow the U.S. Attorney to undertake federal 
prosecutions of illegal immigration and drug trafficking along that 
corridor. It is patterned after a similar successful initiative, called 
Project Exile, which significantly reduced illegal gun smuggling and 
violent crime in the corridor between Camden, New Jersey and 
Philadelphia.
  Solving this problem will take more than just increased law 
enforcement. It also is critically important that we give children 
healthy and safe alternatives to drugs and crime.
  With Chairman Gregg's help, the Senate Appropriations Committee has 
provided $750,000 for an after-school program in Rio Arriba, and 
increased funding for the Boys' and Girls' Clubs nationwide. Northern 
New Mexico has long faced a true shortage of worthwhile crime and drug 
abuse prevention programs, particularly for children.
  We need to provide kids with constructive outlets for their time and 
energy, so they do not become the next generation of addicts. I think 
that our efforts here recently are going to change that for the better.
  Finally, let me talk a little bit about treatment, because that is 
the most difficult problem the county faces. Currently, there are 66 
treatment beds in Rio Arriba County. Yet, all but six of them are 
reserved for alcoholics. There is no in-patient treatment for heroin 
addicted kids and no detox facility in Rio Arriba. So the county has a 
long way to go in dealing with the special health care needs of heroin 
addicts.
  To assist with the efforts, I have requested $2 million from the 
budget of

[[Page S7019]]

the Department of Health and Human Services to help expand drug 
treatment and prevention services in the county. Also, the state of New 
Mexico has provided $500,000 for increased drug treatment in the area.
  Successful treatment programs require more than a one-time infusion 
of federal or state funds. Communities, state and local governments and 
treatment providers must work together to keep them viable and 
operational once facilities are established. Federal dollars can help, 
but the bulk of the effort must come at the state and local level.
  A big part of what the technical assistance team I have sent to Rio 
Arriba County is doing is figuring out how to coordinate federal, state 
and local treatment resources, and how to make these treatment options 
available for many years to come. This is a critical component in the 
strategy we have begun to develop.
  As I see it, the federal response to the drug problem in Rio Arriba 
County has been swift and comprehensive. We have done much more in a 
short amount of time than simply throw money at the problem. We have 
begun to build upon the three main components of any successful anti-
drug strategy: law enforcement, treatment and prevention, and the 
Department of Justice and other federal agencies have begun the process 
of working with the local community to improve in all three areas in 
Rio Arriba County.
  It is my hope that in a few years, after our efforts and ideas have 
been implemented, we will look to northern New Mexico as an example of 
how small rural communities can overcome big drug problems. We have a 
long way to go, but I look forward to continuing my efforts to defeat 
the heroin problem in Rio Arriba County and help this proud community 
get it back on its feet.
  Thank you, Mr. President.

                          ____________________