[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1307-E1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. STEVE KING

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 27, 2006

  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Chairman, the Fiscal Year 2007 Science, State, 
Justice and Commerce Appropriations bill would fund the JAG-Byrne 
program at $367 million, which leaves a gap beyond what many States and 
local law enforcement agencies can fill without cutting multi-
jurisdictional task forces which are critical in fighting the war 
against drugs.
  At a time when meth and other drug crime enforcement has already 
stretched funding resources thin, this funding reduction will certainly 
have a negative impact. Most of Iowa's meth is in the purer form of 
``Ice.'' It is coming into my State from a foreign nation, Mexico. Our 
cocaine seizures are almost all of Mexican origin.
  Recent marijuana seizures in Iowa are of Mexican origin. States, like 
Iowa, can use Federal assistance in dealing with this now

[[Page E1308]]

national and international drug problem. State resources are being 
stretched thin to combat meth trafficking from Mexico and to work drug 
conspiracies that have their roots in Mexico and beyond. I continue to 
support increased funding for Byrne grants. State and local agencies 
take the brunt of meth investigations without Federal assistance. More 
than 90% of drug arrests nationwide are made by State and local law 
enforcement. Tom Constantine, former head of the Drug Enforcement 
Agency (DEA) testified that the majority of DEA cases begin as 
referrals from local and multi-jurisdictional drug investigations. He 
was unaware of any major DEA case during his tenure that did not 
originate from information gathered at the State and local level.
  Byrne-JAG is an effective Federal partnership with State and local 
law enforcement. The key is local control and information sharing 
across local, State and Federal jurisdictions. Last year, Byrne task 
forces seized 5,600 meth labs, 55,000 weapons, and massive quantities 
of narcotics, including 2.7 million grams of meth. These results 
demonstrate the power of using Federal dollars to leverage State and 
local partnerships.

  The National Drug Threat Assessment 2006, authored by the Department 
of Justice, found that Mexican criminal groups control most wholesale 
distribution of powder and ice methamphetamine. According to DEA and 
HIDTA reporting, Mexican criminal groups are the predominant wholesale 
methamphetamine traffickers in the country--even in the Northeast and 
Florida/Caribbean Regions--supplying various midlevel drug dealers.
  Mexican control over wholesale and midlevel methamphetamine 
distribution is likely to increase as a greater proportion of wholesale 
methamphetamine production occurs in Mexico-based laboratories. 
Unfortunately, declines in domestic methamphetamine production, 
particularly by independent producers, will strengthen the position of 
Mexican criminal groups as midlevel and retail distributors.
  Iowa has made great strides. Iowa is a model for how to address 
domestic sources of meth lab production with its tough precursor laws. 
Unfortunately, to meet the demand, more meth is coming in from Mexico. 
A coordinated multi-jurisdictional response involving local, State and 
Federal agencies is crucial. Local law enforcement needs to have the 
funds in this amendment to fight drug crimes.

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