[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2211-E2212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 H.R. 6344, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY REAUTHORIZATION ACT 
                                OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. MARK E. SOUDER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2006

  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, yesterday, before we passed H.R. 6344, I 
took the opportunity to thank the various members of the House and 
Senate, without whom we could not have passed this important and long-
overdue legislation. As a point of personal privilege, I want to take 
this opportunity to thank the many staff members who worked so long and 
so hard for us.
  First, I must thank the Staff director of our Subcommittee on 
Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources. Marc Wheat has been 
with us for over three years, and he has been relentless and energetic 
in pursuing this daunting project. There is no other staffer on the 
House or Senate side who deserves more credit.
  Subcommittee counsel Dennis Kilcoyne, who joined our staff in 
February, has led the negotiations with the Senate for months and 
skillfully steered this legislation through the demands and critiques 
of the many competing parties in Congress, the Administration and 
private sector. It was a huge task requiring patience, skill and 
diplomacy, without which the effort would not have succeeded.
  The bipartisan nature of this negotiation has been an inspiration, 
and that is represented on the House side by Tony Haywood, counsel to 
the minority staff of the Government Reform Committee, who has ably 
represented the interests of our ranking Subcommittee member, Elijah 
Cummings. He has been a team player with our staff.
  I cannot forget the role played by our former Staff Director Chris 
Donesa--now with the House Intelligence Committee--and our former 
Subcommittee counsel Nick Coleman. These men brought great insight and 
skill that has contributed much to this legislation.
  And I would be remiss if I didn't thank Susie Schulte of the 
Government Reform Committee and Matt Miller of the Speaker's Drug Task 
Force, as well as his predecessor Andy Tiongson. All of these people 
have been enthusiastic and resourceful partners in this fight.
  Finally, I must mention all those staff members on the Senate side 
who responded so well to the hard work of our House Staff. First, I 
must thank Gavin Young--who represents Chairman Specter on the 
Judiciary Committee--and his predecessor Matt McPhillips, who just left 
last week to take up his FBI assignment in Denver. These two proved 
every bit as skillful in shepherding the bill in the last few weeks of 
maneuvering in that mysterious body we call the United States Senate.
  Also we thank Jeremy Mischler and Melissa Sundberg of the Senate Drug 
Caucus. They have worked long on behalf of Senator Grassley to help us 
finally reach the elusive goal of passing this bill.
  Jackie Parker of Senator Levin's staff and Reagan Taylor of Senator 
Biden's staff have been working this issue for a long time, and my 
staff have nothing but high praise for their team efforts. Roscoe Jones 
of Senator Leahy's staff worked hard and in good faith in recent weeks 
with my staff to hammer out the last few wrinkles in the negotiations, 
and we thank him for his efforts also.
  I also want to salute John Mackey of the House International 
Relations Committee, Janice O'Connell of the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee, and Tim Rieser of the Senate Appropriations Foreign 
Operations Subcommittee, who did so much in the drafting of the 
provisions to ensure that the Director of ONDCP carries out a study on 
the use of mycoherbicides as a way to kill off coca and opium poppy 
plants in an environmentally safe manner. Their efforts may succeed 
where thousands of tons of chemical spraying has failed.

  Among the private sector groups, we are especially grateful to Sue 
Thau of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Marcia Lee 
Taylor of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and Ron Brooks of 
the National Narcotics Officers Associations Coalitions. From the 
treatment, prevention and law enforcement sides--respectively--they 
have been indispensable partners in our efforts to enact this law. 
Additionally, I must thank Professor Charles O'Keeffe of Virginia 
Commonwealth University, who gave us such helpful guidance on 
provisions to allow doctors to treat more heroin addicts who needs 
drugs like buprenorphine for treatment.
  Finally, I am particularly proud that this Act to be signed by the 
President takes the first step to prevent what C. S. Lewis referred to 
as ``the abolition of Man.'' In the section authorizing the U.S. Anti-
Doping Agency, it explicitly bans from athletic competition anyone who 
has been genetically modified for performance enhancement. This 
technology of ``gene-doping'' is not yet viable in humans, but it is 
widely anticipated to be on the horizon. To that end, it is critical to 
anticipate the problem and explicitly address it.
  The protocol set by the U.S. Anti Doping Agency, which follows the 
World Anti-Doping Agency, is also the standard followed by the 
International Olympic Committee. These standards state that ``The non-
therapeutic use of cells, genes, genetic elements, or of the

[[Page E2212]]

modulation of gene expression, having the capacity to enhance athletic 
performance, is prohibited.'' Although the U.S. Anti Doping Agency and 
the World Anti-Doping Agency presently prohibit gene-doping, there is 
no guarantee that gene-doping will remain on the prohibited list. The 
prohibition of gene-doping by statute and further public dialogue is 
critical. I salute my House and Senate colleagues for their foresighted 
efforts in this regard.

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