Darlene Hooley

I want to thank my colleague and good friend and wonderful chairman of my subcommittee on Energy and Commerce for giving me this opportunity.

I also want to thank, and I am sorry she is not here tonight, Representative Cubin who has worked so hard on this issue. Battling the meth epidemic has been amongst my top priorities in Congress, and it is also a priority for the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin). It is something that we share.

Those of us in the West have long been familiar with the ways that meth has worked to destroy communities, families and property. For over two decades as a county commissioner and as a Member of Congress representing the mid-Willamette Valley and Oregon's central coast, I've dealt with the fallout of meth production in small communities and rural areas where law enforcement and social services are stretched beyond their limit to handle this scourge.

The Federal Government must step up to the plate and do its part in defending families and communities against this threat. Meth is one of the fastest-growing drug problems in the

country because it is cheap, easy to make, and gives addicts an intense, long-lasting high. The consequences of its use can be severe not just for the addict but for the community.

Meth addicts frequently abuse or neglect their children. Meth labs are toxic to our environment. Meth use and production raise the rate of property crime and identity theft.

When we talk about fighting drug abuse, we frequently talk about this concept of a three-legged stool: prevention, treatment and enforcement. Just like a stool, our efforts to fight drug abuse will collapse if we try to stand on just one or two of those legs.

During the last Congress we in the Meth Caucus worked together to make significant progress on both the enforcement aspect and controlling the meth supply through the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act. But treatment and prevention issues have largely been ignored, which is why I am so pleased that today we will consider the Meth Free Families and Communities Act that Congresswoman Barbara Cubin and I have worked together to craft.

Our legislation has four important provisions that will help our communities. One concern I have heard throughout Oregon in meetings with treatment and prevention officials and nationally is that we need to start looking at the meth epidemic as not just a criminal problem, but as a public health problem.

The first section will require the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to work with primary care providers to apply evidence-based practices for screening and treating people with drug addiction or those at risk of developing one. It will also direct the center to collaborate with both addiction professionals and primary care providers to raise awareness of how do we recognize the signs of drug addiction so doctors can direct the addicted patients into treatment.

The second provision will reauthorize an existing grant program for pregnant and parenting women so they can receive comprehensive, family- based substance abuse treatment. Congresswoman Cubin has led the way in fighting for the resources needed for this vital initiative. Too many children have gone into the foster system because their mothers are sent to jail for meth addiction. This initiative will provide treatment to pregnant and parenting women which is much more effective for the mother and certainly cost effective and better for the child.

Another issue that has employers seeking our help is ensuring safe and drug free workplaces. Employers are concerned about finding employees who are able to pass a drug test. In some cases, companies are worried about implementing drug free workplace policies out of concern for the employee filing suit against them. Although the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration already provides guidelines to employers on creating a drug free workplace policy, the chief concern I have heard from businesses is that the guidelines can be difficult to navigate and assistance is not readily accessible.

So this legislation will create a single information clearinghouse in the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention that will serve as a resource for both employers and employees on drug testing policies and programs.

Finally, this legislation will create a national version of an incredibly successful program we have in Oregon, the Methamphetamine Awareness Project. The project goes into the high schools throughout the State with a film production crew and works with the students to produce anti-meth advertisements or sometimes even short documentaries that are entirely student driven. It is a great project that allows students to create the message that they think will best reach their fellow students. And it also gives them an after-school activity that keeps them from being idle and teaches them new skills. This project has been so effective in Oregon, I want to see it expanded on a national level which is why this legislation will allow SAMHSA prevention grant dollars to be used for professionally mentored, student-driven methamphetamine awareness projects around the country.

I thank the gentleman.

Congresswoman Cubin and I have both met extensively with prevention and treatment experts in our respective States and throughout the country. These provisions reflect what professionals have told us are the greatest needs in their field.

With gratitude, I would like to recognize Alison Craig of my own staff and Landon Stropko of Congresswoman Cubin's staff who have taken these ideas from sessions and turned them into provisions in this legislation.

I also want to recognize the work of the late Timm O'Cobhthaigh of my staff who helped Alison Craig put together many of these forums in Oregon.

I would like to thank Congresswoman Cubin for her leadership and her great passion to do a bill against methamphetamine that isn't just limited to enforcement efforts. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting the Meth Free Families and Communities Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor a great American. Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., was born on July 10, 1925. Although he is from New York, his mother was born in Portland, Oregon, and Jerome Kohlberg has always maintained close ties to my State.

Few Americans have been as successful as Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. As a founder of Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts, one of the world's largest private equity firms, Jerome Kohlberg has been one of this Nation's preeminent financiers for more than four decades.

After service as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, Jerome Kohlberg earned three college degrees under the original GI bill. This past year, Jerome Kohlberg became deeply involved in the fight for a new GI bill for this generation of veterans. He established the Fund For Veterans' Education, a program to provide college funding for returning veterans from all 50 States. His idea--and with the recent passage of the new GI bill, it proved to be a brilliant idea--was to establish a model for what could be done for today's veterans.

He is a role model for all citizens young and old. I am pleased and proud to note the accomplishment of this great American, Jerome Kohlberg, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 163) expressing the sense of Congress in support of further research and activities to increase public awareness, professional education, diagnosis, and treatment of Dandy-Walker syndrome and hydrocephalus, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 163 which supports continued research to increase public awareness, professional education, diagnosis, and treatment of Dandy-Walker Syndrome and hydrocephalus.

Dandy-Walker Syndrome is a congenital brain malformation that affects the cerebellum and the fluid spaces around it. Symptoms often develop early in infancy robbing children of their future potential just as their lives are beginning. Its causes are largely unknown, but what is known is that it can have a devastating impact on a child. A baby with Dandy-Walker Syndrome may experience developmental delays, enlarged head size, and severely reduced intellectual capabilities.

Dandy-Walker Syndrome was discovered almost 100 years ago in 1914 by former University of New Mexico neurosurgeon and professor Arthur E. Walker and Dr. Walter E. Dandy. A cure for the disease remains elusive.

The resolution before us supports the continuing research collaboration into Dandy-Walker syndrome. It recognizes the work of the National Institutes of Health with the National Human Genome Institute, the National Institute

of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Office of Rare Diseases.

H. Con. Res. 163 also encourages increased collaboration between the Federal Government and patient advocacy organizations seeking to find a cure for Dandy-Walker syndrome.

I would like to thank my colleagues, Congresswoman Heather Wilson and Congressman Chris Van Hollen, for their efforts in bringing this resolution to the floor today. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H. Con. Res. 163.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen. I know he has worked very hard on this issue.

We have no other speakers, if you would like to close. I'm happy to do that after you.

Mr. Speaker, again I urge an ``aye'' vote.

This bill will give families with Dandy-Walker Syndrome hope. It is something we can all come together on. People need to know that we listen when they speak. And this is a way to make sure that further research is done on a disease that's been around for a long time. Most of us didn't know about it before this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.