The hearing we are holding today is important – and not just because we are focusing on the Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act, a bill I introduced with Senator Hatch, along with Senators Biden, DeWine, and Thurmond. This hearing is important because it shows that this committee has reached a bipartisan consensus that we need to take a comprehensive approach to our drug problems. As someone who has long supported efforts to reduce the demand for drugs, I was struck when the drug czar played by Michael Douglas in the film "Traffic" questions the lack of emphasis placed on drug treatment. While a number of members of the Senate played important roles in that movie, the comment that stood out most for me was the question of how we can fight a "war on drugs" when the enemies are drug users who are members of ordinary American families.

Similarly, in his recent visit to Mexico, President Bush frankly admitted that the reason that drugs are trafficked into the United States from Mexico is because there is strong demand among Americans for the product. Law enforcement does an excellent job in combating drug abuse, but law enforcement alone cannot solve this problem – we have to acknowledge that only a three-pronged approach involving treatment, prevention, and law enforcement can work.

No community is immune from the ravages of drug abuse. Recently, I had the good fortune to spend an evening with more than 200 Vermonters talking about the pressing problem in my state: heroin. Vermont has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, but we are experiencing serious troubles because of drug abuse. I was pleased that so many Vermonters – parents, students, teachers, and concerned community members, as well as professionals from our state’s prevention, treatment, and enforcement communities – took time out of their busy schedules to participate in a Town Meeting Discussion about the way Vermont’s heroin problem affects their lives.

A woman named Siobahn Bosely courageously shared the story of her addiction to heroin and how she overcame it. She expressed her strong support for methadone - a treatment that helped her get her life back on track. By participating in a methadone treatment program, she was able to have a child that did not have a heroin addiction and now she lives a life free of this drug. The bill that Senator Hatch and I have introduced will help women like Ms. Bosely by funding residential drug treatment centers for mothers so that women can get treatment and raise their children at the same time.

We were also joined at the town meeting by representatives of one of Vermont’s few treatment programs, who explained how difficult it is for those Vermonters who need treatment to find it. This bill will address that problem by devoting resources to improving treatment in rural States and economically depressed areas.

Law enforcement officials -- including state police officers, local sheriffs, and police chiefs -- said that we need both to increase support for law enforcement and do more to assist prevention and treatment efforts.

Teachers and school counselors asked at the meeting for greater support of prevention and education programs in our schools. I believe we should increase our efforts both to educate our young people about the dangers of drugs and to provide after school programs and activities to keep our kids busy. This bill will do both of those things.

I invited Edyie Hewitt, one of the people who spoke at the town meeting, to testify here today about how treatment opportunities have fallen far short of our needs in Vermont. As the Rutland Daily Herald editorialized a few months ago, "agencies that treat addictions" need "a boost in resources and manpower." (1/26/01) Those who work to prevent drug abuse from occurring in the first place need our strong support. I also invited James Walton, Vermont’s Commissioner of Public Safety, to testify here today about how treatment and prevention programs can assist law enforcement in its critical duties. He has been supportive of a comprehensive approach to our drug problems in the past, and I have worked with his office in developing this bill. I thank them both for being here.

The Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act contains numerous grant programs to aid States and local communities in their efforts to prevent and treat drug abuse. Of particular interest to the residents of my State, it establishes drug treatment grants for rural States and authorizes money for residential treatment centers for mothers addicted to heroin, methamphetamines, or other drugs.

This legislation also will help States and communities reduce drug use in prisons through testing and treatment. This is an effort I proposed in the Drug Free Prisons Act, which I introduced in the last Congress. It will fund programs designed to reduce recidivism through drug treatment and other services for former prisoners after release. As Joseph Califano, Jr., the president of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse and former secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, told the National Press Club in January: "The next great opportunity to reduce crime is to provide treatment and training to drug and alcohol abusing prisoners who will return to a life of criminal activity unless they leave prison substance free and, upon release, enter treatment and continuing aftercare." This legislation will accomplish both of those goals.

In addition, this bill will authorize drug courts – another step I proposed in the Drug Free Prisons Act – and juvenile drug courts. Finally, the bill directs the Sentencing Commission to review and amend penalties for a number of drug crimes involving children. For example, in addressing circumstances such as those surrounding the recent discovery of a drug-related prostitution ring operating between Burlington and New York, the bill instructs the Sentencing Commission to amend its guidelines to provide for any necessary sentencing enhancement for criminals who distribute drugs to minors in order to lure a minor into or keep a minor engaged in prostitution or other criminal activity.

I would like to take a moment to commend the approach taken in the criminal provisions in this legislation. Instead of imposing mandatory minimums, we have invested discretion in the Sentencing Commission to determine appropriate penalties. A 1997 study by the RAND Corporation of mandatory minimum drug sentences found that "mandatory minimums are not justifiable on the basis of cost-effectiveness at reducing cocaine consumption, cocaine expenditures, or drug-related crime." Despite this study and mounting evidence of prison overcrowding, legislators continue to propose additional mandatory minimums. In light of the persistence of that idea, this legislation calls for a new study of the issue, including whether mandatory minimums have a disproportionate impact on any racial or ethnic groups and whether they are an appropriate vehicle to punish nonviolent offenders.

Finally, I would like to comment on the inclusion of charitable choice language in this legislation to allow religious groups to compete for grants on the same basis as other groups. Although the language in this bill mirrors language that has previously passed Congress, I have serious reservations about it. I know that many of my colleagues share those reservations. The Chairman has agreed to hold a hearing on charitable choice next month, and I look forward to that opportunity to explore openly the legal and policy issues involved.

I would like to place the testimony of Dr. Jan Carney, Vermont’s Commissioner of Health, into the record. Dr. Carney describes herself as an "enthusiastic supporter" of the Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act. I would also like to place in the record an op-ed article from yesterday’s Washington Post written by Joseph Califano, in which he calls for balancing and enhancing research, prevention, treatment and law enforcement.

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