[House Report 110-35]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                             Rept. 110-35
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     Part 1

======================================================================



 
 NATIVE AMERICAN METHAMPHETAMINE ENFORCEMENT AND TREATMENT ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

                 March 8, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Conyers, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 545]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred 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, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Vote of the Committee............................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     4
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     4
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     5
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     5
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5
Additional Views.................................................     9

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 545, the ``Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement 
and Treatment Act of 2007,'' amends the Omnibus Crime Control 
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include or reaffirm territories 
and Indian tribes as eligible grant recipients under programs 
to: (1) curtail the manufacture, sale, and use of 
methamphetamine; (2) aid children in homes in which 
methamphetamine or other drugs are unlawfully manufactured, 
distributed, dispensed, or used; and (3) reduce methamphetamine 
use by pregnant and parenting women.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    Last year, Congress enacted the Combat Methamphetamine 
Epidemic Act of 2005 as Title VII of the USA PATRIOT 
Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. Included in the 
Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act were provisions that 
authorized funding for three important grant programs within 
the Department of Justice: (1) The COPS Hot Spots Program; (2) 
the Drug-Endangered Children program; and (3) the Pregnant and 
Parenting Women Offenders program. Although Indian tribes and 
territories were included as eligible grant recipients under 
the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders program, they were 
inadvertently left out as possible grant recipients under the 
COPS Hot Spots Program and the Drug- Endangered Children 
Program. H.R. 545 allows Indian tribes and territories to apply 
for and receive funding under all three grant programs.
    In 2005, the Drug Enforcement Administration and State and 
local law enforcement officials reported 12,484 seizures of 
illegal methamphetamine laboratories and related chemicals, 
equipment, and hazardous waste refuse in 48 states. The DEA 
seized over 2,148 kilograms of methamphetamine, which 
represents almost a 30% increase from the amount seized in 
2004. The threat is even greater in Native American 
communities, where surveys of past-year methamphetamine use 
have shown that Native American communities have more than 
double the methamphetamine use rate of other ethnicities. 
Additionally, over 70% of Indian tribes surveyed by the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs identified methamphetamine as the drug that 
posed the greatest threat to their reservation and also 
estimated that at least 40% of violent crime cases investigated 
in Indian Country involve methamphetamine in some capacity.
    H.R. 545 will ensure that territories and, consistent with 
tribal sovereignty, Indian tribes can apply for the COPS Hot 
Spots and Drug-Endangered Children grant programs, just as 
States can, and will also ensure adequate coordination with 
tribal service providers for tribes receiving funds under the 
Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders Program.

                                Hearings

    The Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and 
Homeland Security held 1 day of hearings on H.R. 545 on 
February 6, 2007. Testimony was received from two witnesses: 
Congressman Tom Udall of New Mexico, and Ben Shelly, Vice 
President of the Navajo Nation.

                        Committee Consideration

    On February 6, 2007, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, 
and Homeland Security met in open session and ordered H.R. 545 
favorably reported by a voice vote, a quorum being present. On 
February 7, 2007, the Committee met in open session and ordered 
H.R. 545 favorably reported without amendment, by a voice vote, 
a quorum being present.
    Vote of the Commitee
    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
following rollcall votes occurred during the Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 545:
    An amendment offered by Mr. Jordan to prohibit the use of 
funds made available under this section for performing any 
abortion, except where the life of the mother would be 
endangered if the fetus were carried to term, was defeated by a 
rollcall vote of 20 to 15.

                                                   ROLLCALL NO. 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Ayes            Nays           Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Conyers, Jr., Chairman......................................                              X
Mr. Berman......................................................                              X
Mr. Boucher.....................................................
Mr. Nadler......................................................                              X
Mr. Scott.......................................................                              X
Mr. Watt........................................................                              X
Ms. Lofgren.....................................................                              X
Ms. Jackson Lee.................................................                              X
Ms. Waters......................................................                              X
Mr. Meehan......................................................                              X
Mr. Delahunt....................................................                              X
Mr. Wexler......................................................                              X
Ms. Sanchez.....................................................                              X
Mr. Cohen.......................................................                              X
Mr. Johnson.....................................................                              X
Mr. Gutierrez...................................................                              X
Mr. Sherman.....................................................
Mr. Weiner......................................................                              X
Mr. Schiff......................................................                              X
Mr. Davis.......................................................                              X
Ms. Wasserman Schultz...........................................                              X
Mr. Ellison.....................................................                              X
Mr. Smith (Texas)...............................................              X
Mr. Sensenbrenner, Jr...........................................              X
Mr. Coble.......................................................              X
Mr. Gallegly....................................................              X
Mr. Goodlatte...................................................              X
Mr. Chabot......................................................
Mr. Lungren.....................................................              X
Mr. Cannon......................................................              X
Mr. Keller......................................................              X
Mr. Issa........................................................              X
Mr. Pence.......................................................
Mr. Forbes......................................................              X
Mr. King........................................................              X
Mr. Feeney......................................................              X
Mr. Franks......................................................              X
Mr. Gohmert.....................................................              X
Mr. Jordan......................................................              X
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................             15              20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does 
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax 
expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 545, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 15, 2007.
Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 545, the Native 
American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                           Peter R. Orszag,
                                                  Director.

Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable Lamar S. Smith.
        Ranking Member
H.R. 545--Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act 
        of 2007
    H.R. 545 would make U.S. territories and Indian tribes 
eligible to apply for certain Department of Justice grants to 
combat the abuse of methamphetamine. Under current law, only 
states may apply for these grants. CBO estimates that 
implementing the bill would result in no significant increase 
in spending for these grant programs. Enacting H.R. 545 would 
not affect direct spending or receipts.
    H.R. 545 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The 
bill would make tribal governments eligible to receive grants 
through three existing Federal programs to combat 
methamphetamine use. Any costs to those governments would be 
incurred voluntarily as conditions of receiving Federal 
assistance.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, 
who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by 
Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
545 will amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 to include or reaffirm territories and Indian tribes as 
eligible grant recipients under programs to: (1) curtail the 
manufacture, sale, and use of methamphetamine; (2) aid children 
in homes in which methamphetamine or other drugs are unlawfully 
manufactured, distributed, dispensed, or used; and (3) reduce 
methamphetamine use by pregnant and parenting women.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in article I, section 8, clause 3 of the 
Constitution.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 545 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of Rule XXI.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    The following discussion describes the bill as reported by 
the Committee.
    Sec. 1. Short Title. This section sets forth the short 
title of the bill as the ``Native American Methamphetamine 
Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007.''
    Sec. 2. Native American Participation in Methamphetamine 
Grants. This section amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 to include or reaffirm territories and 
Indian tribes as eligible grant recipients under programs to: 
(1) curtail the manufacture, sale, and use of methamphetamine; 
(2) aid children in homes in which methamphetamine or other 
drugs are unlawfully manufactured, distributed, dispensed, or 
used; and (3) reduce methamphetamine use by pregnant and 
parenting women.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

           OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968



           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
TITLE I--JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


              PART II--CONFRONTING USE OF METHAMPHETAMINE

SEC. 2996. AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS TO ADDRESS PUBLIC SAFETY AND 
                    METHAMPHETAMINE MANUFACTURING, SALE, AND USE IN HOT 
                    SPOTS.

    (a) Purpose and Program Authority.--
            (1) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this part to 
        assist States, territories, and Indian tribes (as 
        defined in section 2704)--
                    (A) to carry out programs to address the 
                manufacture, sale, and use of methamphetamine 
                drugs; and
                    (B) to improve the ability of State [and 
                local], territorial, Tribal, and local 
                government institutions of to carry out such 
                programs.
            (2) Grant authorization.--The Attorney General, 
        through the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the Office 
        of Justice Programs may make grants to States, 
        territories, and Indian tribes to address the 
        manufacture, sale, and use of methamphetamine to 
        enhance public safety.
            (3) Grant projects to address methamphetamine 
        manufacture sale and use.--Grants made under subsection 
        (a) may be used for programs, projects, and other 
        activities to--
                    (A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                    (C) support State, Tribal, and local health 
                department and environmental agency services 
                deployed to address methamphetamine; and

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                              ----------                              


        USA PATRIOT IMPROVEMENT AND REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005



           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
TITLE VII--COMBAT METHAMPHETAMINE EPIDEMIC ACT OF 2005

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Subtitle E--Additional Programs and Activities

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 755. GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS FOR DRUG-ENDANGERED CHILDREN.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall make grants to 
States, 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)) for the purpose of carrying out programs to 
provide comprehensive services to aid children who are living 
in a home in which methamphetamine or other controlled 
substances are unlawfully manufactured, distributed, dispensed, 
or used.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 756. AUTHORITY TO AWARD COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO ADDRESS 
                    METHAMPHETAMINE USE BY PREGNANT AND PARENTING WOMEN 
                    OFFENDERS.

    (a) Purpose and Program Authority.--
            (1) * * *
            (2) Purposes and program authority.--Grants awarded 
        under this section shall be used to facilitate or 
        enhance and collaboration between the criminal justice, 
        child welfare, and State, territorial, or Tribal 
        substance abuse systems in order to carry out programs 
        to address the use of methamphetamine drugs by pregnant 
        and parenting women offenders.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            (1) Child welfare agency.--The term ``child welfare 
        agency'' means the State, territorial, or Tribal agency 
        responsible for child [and/or] or family services and 
        welfare.
            (2) Criminal justice agency.--The term ``criminal 
        justice agency'' means an agency of the State, 
        territory, Indian tribe, or local government or its 
        contracted agency that is responsible for detection, 
        arrest, enforcement, prosecution, defense, 
        adjudication, incarceration, probation, or parole 
        relating to the violation of the criminal laws of that 
        State, territory, Indian tribe, or local government.
            (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)).
    (c) Applications.--
            (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

            (3) Eligible entities.--The Attorney General shall 
        make grants to States, territories, and Indian [Tribes] 
        tribes. Applicants must demonstrate extensive 
        collaboration with the State criminal justice agency 
        and child welfare agency in the planning and 
        implementation of the program.
            (4) Contents.--In accordance with the regulations 
        or guidelines established by the Attorney General in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, each application for a grant under this 
        section shall contain a plan to expand the [State's 
        services] services of the State, territory, or Indian 
        tribe for pregnant and parenting women offenders who 
        are pregnant women [and/or] or women with dependent 
        children for the use of methamphetamine or 
        methamphetamine and other drugs and include the 
        following in the plan:
                    (A) A description of how the applicant will 
                work jointly with the [State] criminal justice 
                and child welfare agencies needs associated 
                with the use of methamphetamine or 
                methamphetamine and other drugs by pregnant and 
                parenting women offenders to promote family 
                stability and permanence.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                    (C) A certification that the State has 
                involved counties, Indian tribes, and other 
                units of local government, when appropriate, in 
                the development, expansion, modification, 
                operation or improvement of proposed programs 
                to address the use, manufacture, or sale of 
                methamphetamine.
                    (D) A certification that funds received 
                under this section will be used to supplement, 
                not supplant, other Federal, State, tribal, and 
                local funds.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                            Additional Views

    We support H.R. 545, the ``Native American Methamphetamine 
Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007.'' The Act provides 
urgently-needed grant funds to Native American communities for 
the enforcement and treatment of methamphetamine addiction.
    At the February 6, 2007, hearing before the Subcommittee on 
Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, Mr. Ben Shelly, Vice 
President of the Navajo Nation, stated that methamphetamine is 
the drug of choice in Indian Country. Seventy-four percent of 
Native Americans surveyed in a recent study say that 
methamphetamine is the single biggest threat to Native American 
communities today.
    The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, which was 
passed as part of the USA PATRIOT Act Improvement and 
Reauthorization Act last year, included several critical grant 
programs to assist states with the escalating methamphetamine 
problem in this country, and inadvertently failed to include 
Native American communities as eligible entities for these 
important grant programs.
    The Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and 
Treatment Act corrects this oversight and gives Native American 
communities full access to methamphetamine-related grants. This 
legislation is critical in our continuing fight to eliminate 
the methamphetamine epidemic in the U.S.
    While we support the bill, we are disappointed that an 
amendment offered by Mr. Jordan of Ohio was not accepted by the 
Committee. Mr. Jordan of Ohio offered an amendment to add 
language identical to that of the Hyde Amendment to provide 
that ``[f]unds made available under this section to any Indian 
tribe shall not be used to perform any abortion except where 
the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were 
carried to term.'' One of the grant programs addressed in the 
underlying bill and modified by Mr. Jordan's amendment provides 
federal funding for the health care needs of pregnant women. 
Clearly, Congress has a legitimate concern that such federal 
grant monies not be used to fund abortions.
    The Jordan amendment is constitutional and sound public 
policy, and should have been adopted by the Committee. Even the 
most liberal of federal courts--the Ninth Circuit Court of 
Appeals--recently upheld as constitutional a federal statutory 
and regulatory program barring military health care programs 
from providing federal funds for abortions except where the 
life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were 
carried to term. In Doe v. United States,\1\ the court held 
that such a statute was rationally related to the legitimate 
congressional interest in protecting potential life. The Ninth 
Circuit applied the clear holding of the Supreme Court in 
Harris v. McRae,\2\ which upheld the Hyde Amendment, a 
restriction appended to Title XIX of the Social Security Act 
that prohibited the use of federal funds to reimburse the cost 
of abortions under the Medicaid program except under certain 
circumstances. As the Ninth Circuit explained in Doe, ``[b]y 
subsidizing the medical expenses of indigent women who carry 
their pregnancies to term while not subsidizing the comparable 
expenses of women who undergo abortions (except those whose 
lives are threatened), Congress has established incentives that 
make childbirth a more attractive alternative than abortion for 
persons eligible for Medicaid. These incentives bear a direct 
relationship to the legitimate congressional interest in 
protecting potential life.'' \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ 419 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2005).
    \2\ 448 U.S. 297 (1980).
    \3\ Doe, 419 F.3d at 1063.

                                   Lamar Smith.
                                   F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
                                   Howard Coble.
                                   Bob Goodlatte.
                                   Daniel E. Lungren.
                                   Chris Cannon.
                                   Ric Keller.
                                   Mike Pence.
                                   Steve King.
                                   Tom Feeney.
                                   Trent Franks.
                                   Jim Jordan.

                                  
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