[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 21, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2788-H2790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NATIVE AMERICAN METHAMPHETAMINE ENFORCEMENT AND TREATMENT ACT OF 2007

  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 545) to amend the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to clarify that territories and 
Indian Tribes are eligible to receive grants for confronting the use of 
methamphetamine, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 545

       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 ``Native American 
     Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. NATIVE AMERICAN PARTICIPATION IN METHAMPHETAMINE 
                   GRANTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 2996(a) of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797cc(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     ``, territories, and Indian tribes (as defined in section 
     2704)'' after ``to assist States''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and local'' and 
     inserting ``, territorial, Tribal, and local'';
       (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, territories, and 
     Indian tribes'' after ``make grants to States''; and
       (3) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ``, Tribal,'' after 
     ``support State''.
       (b) Grant Programs for Drug Endangered Children.--Section 
     755(a) of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act 
     of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 3797cc-2(a)) is amended by inserting ``, 
     territories, and Indian tribes (as defined in section 2704 of 
     the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
     U.S.C. 3797d))'' after ``make grants to States''.
       (c) Grant Programs To Address Methamphetamine Use by 
     Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders.--Section 756 of the 
     USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 
     U.S.C. 3797cc-3) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ``, territorial, or 
     Tribal'' after ``State'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by inserting ``, territorial, or Tribal'' after 
     ``State''; and

[[Page H2789]]

       (ii) by striking ``and/or'' and inserting ``or'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by inserting ``, territory, Indian tribe,'' after 
     ``agency of the State''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``, territory, Indian tribe,'' after 
     ``criminal laws of that State''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 2704 of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797d).''; 
     and
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Indian Tribes'' and 
     inserting ``Indian tribes''; and
       (B) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--

       (I) by striking ``State's''; and
       (II) by striking ``and/or'' and inserting ``or'';

       (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``State'';
       (iii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``, Indian 
     tribes,'' after ``involved counties''; and
       (iv) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``, Tribal'' after 
     ``Federal, State''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Smith) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H.R. 545, the Native 
American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007. This 
legislation establishes the clear intent of Members of Congress to 
assist Native Americans in combating the threat of methamphetamine.
  This threat looms great in our country, and nowhere greater than in 
Native American communities. Studies have shown that Native American 
communities have more than double the methamphetamine use rates of 
other communities. According to surveys performed by the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, over 70 percent of Indian tribes identified 
methamphetamine as the drug that poses the greatest threat to their 
reservation, and also estimated that at least 40 percent of violent 
crime cases investigated in Indian country involved methamphetamine in 
some capacity.
  From hearings in the House and from other reports, we learn that 
current Federal laws and programs designed to prevent the spread of 
methamphetamine use have proven to be reasonably effective, but we 
identified serious gaps with respect to protecting our Native American 
communities from this dangerous drug. Unfortunately, the attempt to fix 
these gaps in the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, passed 
in the last Congress as part of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and 
Reauthorization Act of 2005, inadvertently left out tribal 
organizations, as well as territories, as eligible applicants for 
certain grants.

                              {time}  1745

  H.R. 545, the Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and 
Treatment Act of 2007, corrects that oversight.
  Included in the Combat Meth Act were provisions that authorized 
funding for three important grant programs within the Department of 
Justice: first, the COPS Hot Spots program; second, the Drug-Endangered 
Children program; and third, the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders 
program.
  Although Native American tribes and territories were included as 
eligible grant recipients under the Pregnant and Parenting Women 
Offenders program, they were unintentionally left out as possible grant 
recipients under the COPS Hot Spots program and the Drug-Endangered 
Children program.
  To correct this oversight, H.R. 545 ensures that territories and 
Indian tribes are included as eligible grant recipients under programs 
to, one, address the manufacture, sale and use of methamphetamine; two, 
aid children in homes in which methamphetamine or other drugs are 
unlawfully manufactured, distributed, dispensed or used; and three, 
address methamphetamine use by pregnant and parenting women offenders.
  I strongly support this important legislation and urge its adoption 
by the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 545, the Native American 
Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007, which provides 
urgently needed funds to Native American communities for the 
enforcement and treatment of methamphetamine addiction.
  The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 was enacted last year 
as part of the U.S. PATRIOT Act Improvement and Reauthorization Act. It 
included three critical grant programs to assist States with America's 
escalating methamphetamine problem: the COPS Meth Hot Spots program, 
the Drug-Endangered Children program and the Pregnant and Parenting 
Women Offenders program. However, the act inadvertently omitted Native 
American communities from participation in two of these grant programs.
  At a hearing before the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security 
Subcommittee in February, Mr. Ben Shelly, vice president of the Navajo 
Nation, stated that methamphetamine is the drug of choice in Indian 
country.
  In 2005, 40 percent of all calls seeking police assistance on the 
Navajo Nation were meth-related. Even more troubling is that 40 percent 
of all violent crimes committed on the Navajo Nation are directly 
related to methamphetamine use trafficking.
  Mr. Udall of New Mexico, the sponsor of H.R. 545, testified at the 
hearing that 74 percent of Native Americans surveyed in a recent study 
say that meth is the single biggest threat to Native American 
communities today. The Native American Meth Enforcement and Treatment 
Act corrects this oversight and gives Native Americans full access to 
all three meth grants. This legislation is critical to our continuing 
fight to eliminate the meth epidemic in America.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bipartisan legislation and urge my 
colleagues to do so as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall).
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. I thank the gentlelady from California for 
her leadership and hard work on this important issue, and also the 
ranking member.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to take a minute to thank the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) who is the lead cosponsor of this 
legislation, not only for his support, but for his work on this issue 
during the last Congress. This is only one of many critically important 
issues he has championed as cochair of the Congressional Native 
American Caucus. I am also honored to be a co-vice chair on the caucus, 
and I am honored to work with him on this legislation.
  I would also like to thank my colleagues who supported this bill by 
joining me as cosponsors.
  The important legislation before us today, H.R. 545, allows tribal 
governments to apply for three programs vital to the fight against 
methamphetamine: the COPS Meth Hot Spots program, the Drug-Endangered 
Children program, and the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders 
program. These programs were authorized last year as part of the Combat 
Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, which was included in the U.S. PATRIOT 
Act reauthorization. Unfortunately, tribal governments were 
unintentionally left out as possible applicants for the Hot Spots and 
Drug-Endangered Children programs. And while tribes are included as 
eligible applicants for the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders 
grant program, clarifying language was needed to ensure there is ample 
coordination with tribal service providers.
  This legislation simply insures that consistent with tribal 
sovereignty, tribes can apply for the Hot Spots and Drug-Endangered 
Children grant programs. It also ensures greater coordination with 
tribal service providers in the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders 
grant program.
  The manufacture and use of methamphetamine is one of the fastest

[[Page H2790]]

growing drug problems in the Nation. Thousands of labs continue to be 
found across the country. And while the number is slowing and slowly 
decreasing, drug traffickers have supplanted this decline with meth 
produced in other countries.
  Unfortunately, the meth situation has been disproportionately much 
worse in Native American communities. The 2005 National Drug Survey on 
Drug Use and Health reported a past-year methamphetamine use rate of 
1.7 percent for American Indians, and 2.2 percent for Native Hawaiians. 
These rates are dramatically higher than Anglos and other ethnic 
groups.
  Mr. Speaker, this situation is absolutely unacceptable. The 
persistent use of methamphetamine on tribal lands and across America 
may come to an end. And I believe that passing H.R. 545 is an important 
step towards achieving this goal.
  I urge my colleagues to support passage of this legislation.
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to just thank 
Mr. Udall on his excellent work in helping to correct this oversight. I 
urge this bill's adoption.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor and strong 
supporter of H.R. 545--the Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement 
and Treatment Act of 2007.
  As a cofounder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus to 
Fight and Control Methamphetamine, I am keenly aware of the threat that 
is our Nation's meth epidemic.
  Methamphetamine has devastating societal costs. It is the source of 
violent crimes against people and property; increased suicide rates; 
heightened risks of hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS; increased need for more 
foster care placements for children of users; and environmental impacts 
from manufacturing facilities.
  This highly addictive drug is a killer that shows no deference to 
region, race or ethnicity--it preys on all mankind.
  Unfortunately, meth use thrives in some communities more than others. 
Native Americans suffer from higher than average rates of drug use as 
found in a recent NIH study. The Department of Health and Human 
Services estimates that 1.7 percent of Native Americans used meth in 
2004--a per capita rate more than double that of Whites--the largest 
user population.
  It is imperative that we assist our Native American communities and 
that is exactly what this bill does.
  A year ago the President signed into law the Combat Methamphetamine 
Epidemic Act of 2005 as part of the PATRIOT Act Reauthorization bill. 
The bill was a true bipartisan, bicameral effort that has provided 
comprehensive measures to address our Nation's methamphetamine problem. 
However, the bill did not specify that Native Americans would be 
eligible for funding within the three grant programs authorized and 
mentioned by my colleagues. H.R. 545 ensures that Native Americans will 
have access to the grant funds.
  I urge unanimous support for this commonsense legislation.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 545, the 
Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement Treatment Act of 2007. I am 
pleased to join my colleague, Congressman Tom Udall, in championing 
this bill through the House. This bill allows Indian tribes to apply 
for three new grant programs--the cops hot spots program, the drug 
endangered children program, and the pregnant and parenting women 
offenders program.
  Methamphetamine use in Indian country has reached epidemic 
proportions, which has led to an increase in crime in Indian 
communities. This bill will give Indian tribes the opportunity to apply 
for Federal funds to assist them in the fight against meth use.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 545, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the 
yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

                          ____________________