[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 153 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9461-S9463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION PREVENTION ACT OF 2007

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 962, S. 1276.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1276) to establish a grant program to facilitate 
     the creation of methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook 
     systems, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with an 
amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Methamphetamine Production 
     Prevention Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. CLARIFICATIONS REGARDING SIGNATURE CAPTURE AND 
                   RETENTION FOR ELECTRONIC METHAMPHETAMINE 
                   PRECURSOR LOGBOOK SYSTEMS.

       Section 310(e)(1)(A) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
     U.S.C. 830(e)(1)(A)) is amended by striking clauses (iv) 
     through (vi) and inserting the following:
       ``(iv) In the case of a sale to which the requirement of 
     clause (iii) applies, the seller does

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     not sell such a product unless the sale is made in accordance 
     with the following:

       ``(I) The prospective purchaser--

       ``(aa) presents an identification card that provides a 
     photograph and is issued by a State or the Federal 
     Government, or a document that, with respect to 
     identification, is considered acceptable for purposes of 
     sections 274a.2(b)(1)(v)(A) and 274a.2(b)(1)(v)(B) of title 
     8, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on or after 
     March 9, 2006); and
       ``(bb) signs the written logbook and enters in the logbook 
     his or her name, address, and the date and time of the sale, 
     or for transactions involving an electronic logbook, the 
     purchaser provides a signature using one of the following 
     means:
       ``(AA) Signing a device presented by the seller that 
     captures signatures in an electronic format. Such device 
     shall display the notice described in clause (v). Any device 
     used shall preserve each signature in a manner that clearly 
     links that signature to the other electronically-captured 
     logbook information relating to the prospective purchaser 
     providing that signature.
       ``(BB) Signing a bound paper book. Such bound paper book 
     shall include, for such purchaser, either (aaa) a printed 
     sticker affixed to the bound paper book at the time of sale 
     which either displays the name of each product sold, the 
     quantity sold, the name and address of the purchaser, and the 
     date and time of the sale, or a unique identifier which can 
     be linked to that electronic information, or (bbb) a unique 
     identifier which can be linked to that information and which 
     is written into the book by the seller at the time of sale. 
     The purchaser shall sign adjacent to the printed sticker or 
     written unique identifier related to that sale. Such bound 
     paper book shall display the notice described in clause (v).
       ``(CC) Signing a printed document that includes, for such 
     purchaser, the name of each product sold, the quantity sold, 
     the name and address of the purchaser, and the date and time 
     of the sale. Such document shall be printed by the seller at 
     the time of the sale. Such document shall contain a clearly 
     identified signature line for a purchaser to sign. Such 
     printed document shall display the notice described in clause 
     (v). Each signed document shall be inserted into a binder or 
     other secure means of document storage immediately after the 
     purchaser signs the document.

       ``(II) The seller enters in the logbook the name of the 
     product and the quantity sold. Such information may be 
     captured through electronic means, including through 
     electronic data capture through bar code reader or similar 
     technology.
       ``(III) The logbook maintained by the seller includes the 
     prospective purchaser's name, address, and the date and time 
     of the sale, as follows:

       ``(aa) If the purchaser enters the information, the seller 
     must determine that the name entered in the logbook 
     corresponds to the name provided on such identification and 
     that the date and time entered are correct.
       ``(bb) If the seller enters the information, the 
     prospective purchaser must verify that the information is 
     correct.
       ``(cc) Such information may be captured through electronic 
     means, including through electronic data capture through bar 
     code reader or similar technology.
       ``(v) The written or electronic logbook includes, in 
     accordance with criteria of the Attorney General, a notice to 
     purchasers that entering false statements or 
     misrepresentations in the logbook, or supplying false 
     information or identification that results in the entry of 
     false statements or misrepresentations, may subject the 
     purchasers to criminal penalties under section 1001 of title 
     18, United States Code, which notice specifies the maximum 
     fine and term of imprisonment under such section.
       ``(vi) Regardless of whether the logbook entry is written 
     or electronic, the seller maintains each entry in the logbook 
     for not fewer than 2 years after the date on which the entry 
     is made.''.
       Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to facilitate the 
     creation of methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook 
     systems, and for other purposes.''.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee 
substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a 
third time and passed; the committee reported title amendment be agreed 
to; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate; and any statements relating to the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 1276), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to facilitate the 
creation of methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook systems, and 
for other purposes.''
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the Senate's 
passage of the Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act. This is 
legislation I introduced with my colleague Senator Grassley to make it 
easier for law enforcement to keep track of purchases of the 
ingredients needed to produce methamphetamine. I am pleased that the 
Senate has passed this important legislation by unanimous consent, and 
I urge the House of Representatives to act quickly to take up and pass 
the bill.
  For years, the manufacture and use of methamphetamine have plagued 
families and communities across Illinois and throughout the Nation. 
Current Federal law limits the amount of meth precursor drug products 
that a person can buy and requires pharmacies to keep a written or 
electronic logbook recording each sale of a precursor product. The 
point of these logbooks is to keep track of individuals' purchases so 
they cannot buy amounts that exceed the limit. The only real reason to 
purchase over-the-limit quantities of these products is for meth 
production. So current law limits bulk purchases and requires 
recordkeeping of transactions.
  Unfortunately, meth makers have figured out how to avoid these limits 
by ``smurfing.'' This is the practice of buying meth precursor products 
in quantities above the limit by traveling to multiple pharmacies that 
keep written logbooks and buying legal amounts at each one. It is 
difficult and time-consuming for law enforcement investigators to find 
these meth ``smurfs'' when the investigators have to go to each 
pharmacy and flip through the paper logbooks to try to spot individual 
names. According to Illinois law enforcement authorities, smurfing now 
accounts for at least 90 percent of the pseudoephedrine used to make 
meth in Illinois.
  The Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act will help wipe out 
``smurfing'' by making it easier for retailers to use electronic 
logbook systems that can monitor sales of meth precursor products and 
identify individuals who are illegally stockpiling those precursors. 
When retailers collect their logbook information electronically and 
make that information accessible to law enforcement, that information 
can be used to identify and prosecute ``smurfs'' and meth cooks.
  The Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act corrects several 
technical hurdles in current Federal law that are prohibiting more 
widespread use of electronic logbook systems. For example, the bill 
gives retailers who use electronic logbook systems the option of 
collecting purchaser signatures on paper, as long as those signatures 
can be clearly linked to the rest of the sale information that is 
captured electronically. This will provide tremendous cost savings for 
retailers without hurting law enforcement efforts. Also, the bill 
permits retailers to enter into their logbook system data about the 
product name and quantity sold through electronic data capture 
technology such as a bar code reader. This will help to speed up 
transactions, and will help avoid transcription errors in the logbook 
records.
  Further, this legislation permits a retailer, rather than a 
purchaser, to enter the purchaser's name and address and the date and 
time of sale into the logbook system. It is difficult to design an 
electronic logbook system where the purchaser is the one who ``enters'' 
his or her name, address, and the date and time of sale, as is required 
under current law. My bill permits the retailer to input that 
information, and then the purchaser must verify that the inputted 
information is correct, for example by orally confirming the 
information that the retail clerk reads back to the purchaser. The bill 
would also permit this information to be captured through electronic 
capture technology, such as a bar code reader or a software program 
that records the date and time.
  If we increase the use of electronic logbook systems, we will put a 
stop to ``smurfing'' and cut off the flow of precursor chemicals that 
supply meth labs in Illinois and throughout the country. That is why 
law enforcement agencies such as the National Narcotics Officers' 
Associations' Coalition, the National Criminal Justice Association, the 
National Sheriffs' Association, and the National District Attorneys 
Association want this legislation to become law. My staff and I have 
also worked with the retail pharmacy community and the drug 
manufacturer community on this legislation, and I am pleased that my 
bill has received the endorsement of the National Association of Chain 
Drug Stores and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. I also 
want to commend and thank Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan and

[[Page S9463]]

Steve Mange, the head of the Illinois Meth Project, for their 
assistance in crafting this legislation.
  I thank my colleague from Iowa, Senator Grassley, for his leadership 
on this issue and Senators Harkin, Bayh, Biden, Cantwell, Clinton, 
Conrad, Feinstein, Johnson, Lincoln, McCaskill, Murkowski, Obama, and 
Schumer for their cosponsorship.
  The production of methamphetamine has plagued our communities for far 
too long, and this legislation takes a critical step to stop it. I 
thank my colleagues in the Senate for the unanimous passage of this 
important bill.

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