Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - April 25, 2007)

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague today, Senator FEINSTEIN, in introducing the Drug Endangered Children Act (DEC) of 2007. As U.S. Senators representing States that have been among the hardest hit by the scourge of meth, we have witnessed first hand how this horrible drug has devastated individual lives and families. We have seen the havoc wreaked on the environment as well as the child welfare system and we have listened to the horror stories of those caught in the grips of addiction.

Last year we worked together in a bi-partisan effort to pass the Combat
Meth Act, which was eventually included in the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization. The result has been a dramatic decrease in the number of clandestine meth lab seizures. While this is certainly welcome news, particularly for our first responders and local law enforcement community, last year there were over 6,400 clandestine meth lab incidents throughout the country. In my home State, we saw a 73 percent decrease in the number of meth lab incidents compared to the previous year yet there were still over 300 incidents last year alone. Clearly, the Combat Meth Act has made progress against locally produced meth, but further action is needed to fully combat this epidemic.

In spite of our success and ongoing efforts to reduce the dangers from ``mom and pop'' meth labs, new and more disturbing instances of meth production, trafficking, and abuse are becoming more prevalent throughout the country. In the State of Missouri, police recently made seven meth-related arrests in just as many hours in the tiny, quiet town of Ozark. The house where these arrests were made belonged to a 45-year-old grandmother, who was baby sitting her infant grandson while his mother was away at school. Upon her arrest she admitted to using meth, but denied she was a dealer. However, while police searched the house, six more individuals were picked up on meth-related charges. When it was all said and done, three children under the age of 3 watched as the police arrested their parent or grandparent for selling or possessing this dangerous drug.

Sadly, this was not an unusual incident. Since 2002, more than 12,000 children throughout the country have been affected, injured, or killed at meth lab sites and thousands more have been sent to foster homes or were victims of meth-related abuse in the home. In Iowa, the Department of Health reports that over 1,000 children over the past 4 years were classified as victims of abuse, and that nearly half of child abuse cases have been meth-related.

Due to the shocking number of children that were being victimized by meth in one form or another, I joined my colleagues in supporting the ``Drug Endangered Children Act of 2005.'' This bill which passed into law as part of the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization, established a national grant program to support state Drug Endangered Children programs and to assist local law enforcement, medical services, and child welfare workers to ensure that victimized children would receive proper attention and treatment after living in these terrible environments. I'm pleased to report that since we implemented this grant program, a large number of communities throughout the nation have formed multi-disciplinary alliances for the benefit of drug-exposed children. There are 16 communities throughout Iowa that have taken advantage of these grants and more are in the process of planning and setting up programs.

The Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007 would re-authorize this important grant program for an additional 2 years and assist States in coordinating law enforcement, medical services, and child welfare efforts, to ensure that children found in such environments receive appropriate attention and care. I am pleased to join with my colleague again as we work together to renew this wonderful and worthwhile program. I ask that my colleagues join us in support of this important legislation and pass the Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007.

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague today, Senator FEINSTEIN, in introducing the Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2007. I believe we have a moral obligation in this country to ensure our young people have every opportunity to grow up without being accosted by drug pushers at every turn, whether on TV, in the movies, or on the way to school.

This important legislation comes in response to the recent warnings issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Office of National Drug Control Policy of candy-flavored meth and other illegal drugs being colored, packaged, and flavored in ways that appear to be designed to attract use by children and minors. As co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, I can tell you that the most at-risk population for drug abuse is our young people. Research has shown time and again that if you can keep a child drug-free until they turn 20, chances are very slim that they will ever try or become addicted. Unfortunately, unscrupulous drug dealers are all too aware of statistics like these and have developed new techniques and marketing gimmicks to lure in younger users. As a parent and now grandparent, this is extremely worrisome.

Last year, we worked to pass the Combat Meth Act into law. Since that time, the number of clandestine meth lab seizures have dropped dramatically across the country. By placing the essential ingredient pseudoephedrine behind the counter, we have lifted a heavy burden from the shoulders of our local law enforcement and made our communities a safer place to live and raise a family. In my home State of Iowa alone, the number of seizures fell a remarkable 73 percent since the sale of pseudoephearine was restricted. But as anyone can tell you, we have a long way to go.

Despite our best efforts and recent success, meth continues to wreak havoc on families and communities across the country. While local ``mom and pop'' meth labs are being dismantled everywhere, drug dealers continue to look for new ways to market their poison. This legislation is intended to protect our young people by expanding existing penalties for those marketing their poison to kids.

Currently Federal law enhances Federal penalties for selling drugs to anyone under the age of 21. When a violation occurs, the Federal penalties are doubled--tripled for a repeat offense--and a mandatory minimum of at least 1 year also applies. However, only the dealer who directly sells drugs to someone under 21 is subject to a double sentence.

The Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act would expand the circumstances under which these enhanced penalties apply. Under our bill, the enhanced penalties that already exist would also apply to anyone who ``manufactures, creates, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute a controlled substance that is flavored, colored, packaged or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to make it more appealing to a person under 21 years of age, or who attempts or conspires to do so.''

The fight against meth and other dangerous drugs is and will continue to be an ongoing struggle. We must adapt and change our tactics just as the dealers, distributors, and pushers have changed theirs. We must do all we can to protect the most vulnerable among us and send a clear message to those wishing to prey on our youth.

I ask that my colleagues join us in support of this important legislation and pass the Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007.

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