[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 6, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1423-S1424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. Grassley):
S. 2159. A bill to extend the authorization of the Drug-Free
Communities Support Program through fiscal year 2017; to the Committee
on the Judiciary.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, I am pleased to join with Senator
Grassley to introduce the Drug Free Communities Reauthorization Act of
2012, a bill to reauthorize the successful Drug Free Communities
Program. It is crucial that communities around the country have the
support and resources needed to respond to serious drug problems in a
comprehensive and coordinated manner. Drug Free Community, DFC,
coalitions have been proven to significantly lower substance abuse
rates in our communities nationwide.
The DFC program encourages local citizens to become directly involved
in solving their community's drug issues through grassroots organizing
and data-driven approaches. Since the program's inception, DFC grants,
which must be matched dollar for dollar, have helped to fund nearly
2,000 coalitions and have mobilized nearly 9,000 community volunteers.
Today's legislation will reauthorize the DFC Program for an additional
5 years, at a reduced rate to reflect current fiscal realities. The
community coalition model has proven extremely effective and has
achieved impressive outcomes. It is critical that today's bill become
law.
The DFC Program strategically invests Federal anti-drug resources at
the community level with those who have the most power to reduce the
demand for drugs--parents, teachers, business leaders, local media,
religious leaders, law enforcement, youth, and others in the community.
Grantees execute collaborative strategies to address their communities'
unique substance use and abuse issues. This is the optimal way to
ensure that the entire community benefits from prevention. I have
consistently supported funding for these coalitions, and was pleased
that last year, eight Vermont coalitions were awarded Drug Free
Community grants totaling $946,852.
In Vermont, we have felt the presence of drug abuse and drug-related
crime in our communities, and prescription drug abuse is on the rise.
The myth persists that drug abuse and drug-related crime are only big-
city problems, but rural America is also coping with these issues. I
have brought the Judiciary Committee to Vermont several times to
examine these problems and gain perspectives to help shape solutions.
One thing is clear. Law enforcement, while crucial, cannot solve the
problem on its own. Reducing substance abuse requires a comprehensive
approach with equal attention to law enforcement, prevention and
education, and treatment, all with active community buy-in.
We see significant results in the fight against youth drug abuse when
we have people working together at the local, State, and Federal
levels, and in the law enforcement, prevention, and treatment fields.
We have seen success driven by DFC coalitions in Vermont and throughout
the country, but there is more work to be done. Drug abuse and drug-
related crime is a persistent problem in major metropolitan areas and
rural communities alike. I hope all Senators will support this
bipartisan bill so that communities nationwide can sustain effective
community coalitions to reduce youth drug use.
[[Page S1424]]
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2159
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF THE DRUG-FREE COMMUNITIES SUPPORT
PROGRAM THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2017.
Section 1024(a) of the National Narcotics Leadership Act of
1988 (21 U.S.C. 1524(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (9)
and all that follows and inserting the following:
``(9) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
``(10) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
``(11) $109,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
``(12) $114,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
``(13) $119,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;
``(14) $124,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
``(15) $129,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
``(16) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2013;
``(17) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;
``(18) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2015;
``(19) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; and
``(20) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2017.''.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, throughout my years in Congress, I have
worked to keep drugs out of our communities. We have all seen the
destructive impact drugs have on our communities, and our families. For
years, we have heard tragic stories of the lives impacted by drug
abuse. These problems plague our society and we must remain united in
this struggle to end abuse and addiction.
In 1997 I, along with then-Senator Biden, sponsored legislation to
create the Drug Free Communities, DFC, program. I believed then--as I
still do today--that one of the most effective ways to prevent drug
abuse is by supporting community antidrug coalitions to identify,
prevent and eradicate the sources of abuse at the grass roots. Since
the enactment of the Drug Free Communities Act, thousands of community
antidrug coalitions have received Federal support to further their
efforts to halt drug abuse in their communities.
Coalitions, across the country and in my home State of Iowa, are
confronted with unique challenges, but they are leading their
communities in finding ways to overcome them. For example, the Van
Buren Safe Coalition in Keosauqua, IA implemented comprehensive
community wide strategies to address the growing marijuana problem in
their community. They conducted town hall meetings to raise awareness
about the dangers of drug use; facilitated various community and youth
education opportunities; and partnered with local schools to ensure
drug policies and codes of conduct were in place. As a result, the Van
Buren County SAFE Coalition reduced marijuana use among 11th graders by
one-third in a 5-year time span according to the Iowa Youth Survey.
The Kossuth Connections coalition, which is headquartered in Algona,
IA, is also taking action to fight underage drinking and smoking within
its communities. According to the Iowa Youth Survey, current underage
drinking and smoking, although still below the statewide average, has
increased slightly between 2008 and 2010 in this county. As a result,
the Kossuth Connections coalition has partnered with local businesses
that sell alcohol and tobacco to ensure compliance with laws requiring
age restrictions on selling alcohol and tobacco products. Youth from
the county have surveyed area stores, inspected advertisements and
product placements, and helped to determine whether or not the store
displays a ``We ID'' sticker at the counter. These youth are committed
to ensuring local stores are in compliance with the law and are
actively working to reduce underage drinking and smoking.
These coalitions are a small sampling, but they represent the
incredible efforts that many are putting into controlling and reducing
drug abuse in our communities. Now is not the time to abandon community
drug prevention efforts.
Unfortunately, recent trends indicate youth drug use nationally is on
the rise and new synthetic drugs like K2/Spice and bath salts are
gaining in popularity. In fact, the latest Monitoring the Future Survey
indicates that one in nine high school seniors used synthetic drugs
like K2/Spice in the past year. This is the first year this survey
tested students on synthetic drug use. The high number of users in such
a short time span illustrates how rapidly drug use can spread among
certain populations and communities. It is discouraging to see these
surveys and to read about more tragedies on a daily basis. These
negative trends will continue if they are not aggressively addressed.
It is vital that communities are made aware of abuse trends and the
new drugs coming on the horizon. The actions community antidrug
coalitions can take to stem the growing tide of rising drug abuse, like
synthetic drug abuse, can and have made a real difference. By holding
town hall meetings, launching school programs, and confronting local
businesses that market or sell inappropriate products community
coalitions are making a real positive difference.
Whether it is a synthetic drug outbreak, a meth epidemic in a
Midwestern town, or an increase in underage drinking, community
antidrug coalitions will lead the way to unite their community against
drug abuse. It is vital in these tough times that these coalitions
continue to receive support from their communities and from the Federal
Government. That is why I am pleased to join my colleague, Senator
Leahy, in introducing a bill to reauthorize The Drug Free Communities
Support Program for an additional 5 years.
This reauthorizing legislation recognizes the good work local
antidrug coalitions have done over the years, but it also recognizes
the fact that resources at the Federal level are tight and that
authorizations need to more closely resemble appropriations. Further,
this program is part of an ongoing review conducted by the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) that I, along with Senator Feinstein,
requested to study the effectiveness of the program. This study will
take some time to develop and should not hinder our efforts to
reauthorize the program, but should also be taken into consideration
once the results are available.
We must remain vigilant and not relent in our efforts to eradicate
drug abuse. Drug abuse flourishes when the problem is ignored. If we
are going to make a better future for our children and communities, we
must face this menace together.
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