[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 22, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H1248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SETTING PRIORITIES FOR FIGHTING THE WAR ON DRUGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, in today's St. Paul Pioneer Press this 
headline caught my attention this morning. It reads, ``Drug-Related 
Deaths Set Record.''
  The story goes on to say that ``drug-related deaths in the United 
States have reached a record level, while illegal drug users can buy 
cocaine and heroin at some of the lowest prices in two decades, 
according to a White House report.'' It further states that ``some 
15,973 people in this country died from drug-induced causes in 1997, an 
increase of 1,130 people over the previous year.''
  The story further states that ``only four of every 10 addicts in the 
United States who needed treatment received it,'' according to the 
report. Then it concludes by stating that ``the figures surely are 
distressing news for the Clinton Administration, which is spending 
record amounts of money to fight the war on drugs.''
  Mr. Speaker, why do we have a record number of deaths from illegal 
drugs? Because we are spending the money in the wrong places.
  Now the administration is calling for the expenditure of another $1.7 
billion for drug eradication and interdiction in Colombia. We have 
already spent $600 million fighting the drug war in Colombia. What has 
been the result? The production of cocaine and heroine has skyrocketed. 
In fact, 80 percent of the cocaine and 75 percent of the heroin today 
in the United States comes from Colombia.
  Mr. Speaker, our priorities are all out of line in the war against 
drugs. For the $400 million proposed to build new helicopters for 
Colombia, we could treat 200,000 addicts in the United States. When 
President Nixon in 1971 declared war on drugs, he directed 60 percent 
of the funding to treatment, and do you know what it is today, Mr. 
Speaker? Eighteen percent, 18 percent of the funding.
  Overall, since the war on drugs started, we have spent $150 billion 
on crop eradication and drug interdiction. What has been the result? We 
have 26 million addicts and alcoholics in the United States today. Most 
are unable to get into treatment. Ten million have no insurance and 
therefore cannot get treatment through Medicaid. Sixteen million have 
insurance, but the insurance companies are blocking the access of all 
but 2 percent of these to treatment.
  In the last 10 years, Mr. Speaker, we have seen 50 percent of the 
treatment centers close in America. Even more alarming, 60 percent of 
the adolescent treatment centers in this country are gone.
  We need to wake up. The Congress needs to wake up. The President 
needs to wake up. We have a national epidemic of addiction on our 
hands, and we are about to spend good money after bad, another $1.7 
billion for the Colombia boondoggle.
  We need to listen to former Lieutenant Commander Sylvester Salcedo, 
who for 3 years worked on this effort with our intelligence forces and 
our military in Colombia. This is the way Lieutenant Commander Salcedo 
put it: ``This is a misdirection of our priorities. This money should 
be going to treating addicts in the United States, rather than trying 
to eradicate crops in Colombia.''
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that wisdom and good judgment prevail in this 
body when this vote comes up, because this is truly a defining moment 
in our effort to curb illegal drug use in the United States. Are we 
going to continue wasting money on these eradication and interdiction 
efforts that do not work? All the studies show that treatment is 23 
times more effective, more cost effective, than eradication. All the 
studies show that treatment is 11 times more cost effective than 
interdiction efforts.
  When are we going to learn? When are we going to learn? Let us 
remember when this war on drugs was first declared by President Nixon, 
he said we should spend 60 percent of the money on treatment. Today it 
is down to 18 percent. We need to reverse those priorities. We need to 
emphasize treatment, provide access to the 26 million Americans already 
addicted to drugs and alcohol. Until we do something about the demand 
side, the disease of addiction that causes people to crave and demand 
drugs, we are never going to put a dent in this problem, which everyone 
in this body says is the number one public health and public safety 
problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this body to defeat the almost-$2 billion for 
more wasteful efforts in Colombia and redirect those priorities to drug 
treatment here at home.

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