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“SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1307-E1308 on June 28, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
ACT, 2007
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speech of
HON. STEVE KING
of iowa
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Chairman, the Fiscal Year 2007 Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations bill would fund the JAG-Byrne program at $367 million, which leaves a gap beyond what many States and local law enforcement agencies can fill without cutting multi-
jurisdictional task forces which are critical in fighting the war against drugs.
At a time when meth and other drug crime enforcement has already stretched funding resources thin, this funding reduction will certainly have a negative impact. Most of Iowa's meth is in the purer form of
``Ice.'' It is coming into my State from a foreign nation, Mexico. Our cocaine seizures are almost all of Mexican origin.
Recent marijuana seizures in Iowa are of Mexican origin. States, like Iowa, can use Federal assistance in dealing with this now national and international drug problem. State resources are being stretched thin to combat meth trafficking from Mexico and to work drug conspiracies that have their roots in Mexico and beyond. I continue to support increased funding for Byrne grants. State and local agencies take the brunt of meth investigations without Federal assistance. More than 90% of drug arrests nationwide are made by State and local law enforcement. Tom Constantine, former head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) testified that the majority of DEA cases begin as referrals from local and multi-jurisdictional drug investigations. He was unaware of any major DEA case during his tenure that did not originate from information gathered at the State and local level.
Byrne-JAG is an effective Federal partnership with State and local law enforcement. The key is local control and information sharing across local, State and Federal jurisdictions. Last year, Byrne task forces seized 5,600 meth labs, 55,000 weapons, and massive quantities of narcotics, including 2.7 million grams of meth. These results demonstrate the power of using Federal dollars to leverage State and local partnerships.
The National Drug Threat Assessment 2006, authored by the Department of Justice, found that Mexican criminal groups control most wholesale distribution of powder and ice methamphetamine. According to DEA and HIDTA reporting, Mexican criminal groups are the predominant wholesale methamphetamine traffickers in the country--even in the Northeast and Florida/Caribbean Regions--supplying various midlevel drug dealers.
Mexican control over wholesale and midlevel methamphetamine distribution is likely to increase as a greater proportion of wholesale methamphetamine production occurs in Mexico-based laboratories. Unfortunately, declines in domestic methamphetamine production, particularly by independent producers, will strengthen the position of Mexican criminal groups as midlevel and retail distributors.
Iowa has made great strides. Iowa is a model for how to address domestic sources of meth lab production with its tough precursor laws. Unfortunately, to meet the demand, more meth is coming in from Mexico. A coordinated multi-jurisdictional response involving local, State and Federal agencies is crucial. Local law enforcement needs to have the funds in this amendment to fight drug crimes.
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