Calvert Co-Sponsors Legislation in Fight Against Meth Abuse
Calvert Co-Sponsors Legislation in Fight Against Meth Abuse
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative Ken Calvert (CA-R) was pleased to announce his co-sponsorship of legislation reintroduced by Rep. Bart Gordon (TN-D) that would help communities more thoroughly clean the sites where methamphetamine labs are found. Rep. Ken Calvert is a co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine.
Alarmed at the toxic mess created by methamphetamine production, Reps. Gordon, Calvert and Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (NY-R) introduced and cosponsored H.R. 798, along with 22 other colleagues, to bring focus on the procedures and standards needed to decontaminate a site where a methamphetamine lab is found.
"This drug doesn't choose political sides of the aisle; it devastates indiscriminately and is impacting communities from coast to coast. To put a stop to it, we must work together to identify and clean up methamphetamine at its source," stated bill author Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN).
Currently the Drug Enforcement Administration disposes of the chemicals found at a methamphetamine site, but doesn't address other environmental factors such as potential groundwater contamination or leftover chemical residue.
"This drug is devastating, not just in the way it affects individuals and their families, but in the toxic hazards its illegal production inflicts on our communities. Scientific research is needed to determine the point at which a site may be declared safe after cleanup. Without parameters to measure toxins and contaminants we cannot ensure the safety of the public and communities affected well into the future. This bipartisan bill does just that by directing the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support research programs to develop methamphetamine lab detection technologies, with an emphasis on practical test kits for field use - where the dangerous work is being done by our law enforcement units," said Calvert.
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