[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG POLICY COMMISSION ACT

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                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 15, 2015

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to introduce the Western 
Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act, a bill that will create an 
independent commission to evaluate U.S. policies aimed at reducing drug 
production and trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. A similar bill 
passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously last year and 
passed the House of Representatives unanimously on December 8, 2009.
  I thank my good friend and colleague Congressman Matt Salmon, the 
Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, for being the lead 
Republican sponsor of this legislation.
  With $15.7 billion spent on counternarcotics programs in Latin 
America and the Caribbean between 1980 and 2012, it is important to 
take stock of what has worked, what has not worked and what future U.S. 
drug policy should look like. This independent commission will be 
required to submit recommendations on future U.S. drug policy to 
Congress, the Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy 12 months after its first meeting.
  The time to examine U.S. drug policy is long overdue. While billions 
of U.S. taxpayer dollars have been spent over the years to fight the 
drug trade, illegal drug use in the United States remains high. In 
2013, there were an estimated 24,573,000 illicit drug users in the 
United States. In particular, I am concerned by the dramatic increase 
in heroin use in our country. Attorney General Eric Holder has noted 
that heroin overdose deaths in the United States increased by an 
alarming 45 percent between 2006 and 2010.
  On the supply side, nearly all cocaine consumed in the United States 
originates in South America while most of the heroin consumed here is 
from Colombia and Mexico. In addition, Central America and the 
Caribbean are key transit regions for drugs entering the United States.
  To tackle our nation's horrific drug problem once and for all, we 
must have a better sense of what works and what does not work. Our 
partners in the Americas, who have worked closely with us in fighting 
drug trafficking for years, and the citizens of our great country, who 
deal every day with illegal drugs on their streets, deserve no less.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

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