Leahy, Grassley Introduce Bill to Reauthorize Drug Free Communities Program

Press Release

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the critical Drug Free Communities (DFC) Program, which provides valuable grants to help community coalitions respond to serious drug and substance abuse problems in their communities. The bill is cosponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.).

The legislation introduced Tuesday will reauthorize the Drug Free Communities Program through 2017. Under the program, community coalitions qualify for grant assistance through the program if local data shows evidence of drug use and abuse rates above the national average, or if rates of use and abuse for a specific drug continue over a sustained period of time. Drug Free Community grants help coalitions that bring together parents, teachers, business leaders, local media, religious leaders, and law enforcement to help reduce the demand for drugs. The grants also help provide specialized training and technical assistance to improve the operation of DFC coalitions. Drug Free Community Grants are matched dollar for dollar by receiving coalitions.

"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. This program encourages local citizens to become directly involved in solving their community's drug issues," said Leahy. "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."

"The people in the local communities are the first to recognize the emergence of new drug threats," Grassley said. "They're also well-equipped to know what works best on the local level to curb drug abuse, whether its kids warning other kids or law enforcement working to cut off supplies. These grants support communities and not more layers of government in Washington, D.C. This legislation is not a complete reauthorization of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy but a reauthorization of one anti-drug program administered by the White House. We're selecting the program that arguably works the best and hasn't had problems come to light. At my request, along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Government Accountability Office is studying the effectiveness and management of federal drug demand reduction programs on youth drug use, including this program. Oversight is important to make sure these programs get the most bang for the taxpayers' buck."

Since 2004, Vermont has received more than $10 million in Drug Free Community grants to aid in the effort to curb substance abuse. Funding to community coalitions has been shown to significantly lower substance abuse across the state. Last year, eight Vermont coalitions were awarded over $946,000 in DFC grants.

Drug Free Community program grants have proven to significantly reduce substance abuse rates in communities and provide crucial assistance to law enforcement efforts to curb drug related crime around the country. Since its establishment, the DFC program has helped to fund nearly 2,000 coalitions and 9,000 volunteers that work in concert with law enforcement to provide prevention, education, and treatment services within their communities.

Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Grassley is the ranking member of the panel. In recent years, Leahy has brought the Judiciary Committee to Vermont for a series of hearings examining the state's community-based approach to addressing drug abuse.

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