Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, today I rise to offer an amendment with Congressman Hulshof and Congressman Skelton that would provide an $8 million increase to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program.

Mr. Chairman, for the past 5 years, HIDTA has essentially been levelly funded despite the increasing threat from the spread of methamphetamine throughout our country.

This amendment would enable the Office of National Drug Control Policy to maintain full funding to existing HIDTAs as well as provide additional resources for the establishment of new HIDTAs.

Mr. Chairman, in my three decades of public service, I have not seen a problem as pervasive or as damaging as Oregon's meth epidemic. The production, distribution and use of meth is a serious threat to public health and safety.

I have traveled around the State talking to policymakers and law enforcement leaders about the meth problem. I have heard one message loud and clear: local law enforcement lacks the resources needed to extinguish Oregon's meth wildfire, and I know Oregon is by no means alone in this fight.

HIDTA provides State and local law enforcement with critical Federal resources to fight meth abuse. It is particularly effective because these resources are targeted at the areas most adversely affected by drug trafficking. It allows communities to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to combat meth and other illegal drugs, one that addresses enforcement, treatment, prevention education, and control of precursor chemicals.

Last year, I offered a similar amendment to the FY 06 meth appropriation bill that added $9 million to HIDTA. While this amendment passed overwhelmingly, the funding was stripped from the final conference report. HIDTA deserves the support of this Congress because it not only helps law enforcement identify and dismantle labs, but also helps break the cycle of other crimes associated with meth use, crimes from domestic violence and child abuse to identity theft. We must continue to support this valuable initiative so our communities have the resources they need to stop the spread of methamphetamine.

I urge you to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will answer a question, this was $9 million, not $12 million.

Mr. Chairman, reclaiming the balance of my time, this amendment is really about priorities. The National Archives is an excellent program, and one I fully support; but this amendment still leaves them with $281.6 million for operating expenses. It is an increase. HIDTA is at level funding, and it allows HIDTA to improve and expand its services for the first time in 5 years, at a time when communities across this country are facing an increasing problem with methamphetamine.

Everybody knows this is a huge problem, one of the fastest-growing drug problems in the Nation. I think we need to provide HIDTA with the funding they need. It is not that I don't support the archives program; it is terrific. But HIDTA has been funded at a level that it already had an increase, and I think we need to fund this. This is a horrific epidemic in this country, and I think we need to fund it.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, communities across this country are facing an increasing problem with methamphetamine, a drug that is cheap, easy to make, and gives addicts an intense longlasting high, but one that destroys their brains, causes them to abuse and neglect their children, and can lead to paranoid acts of violence. And while we have taken action to cut off pseudoephedrine sales to the mom and pop meth labs, the vast majority of meth consumed in this country is made in Mexico and smuggled into the U.S. by Mexican drug cartels. My amendment would help address this issue by designating $10 million in the international narcotics control and law enforcement for counter-methamphetamine efforts in Mexico.

International narcotics control and law enforcement is funded in this bill at $703 million, a $231 million increase over last year's funding. While the overall account is adequately funded within this program, the committee report designates only $40 million for Mexico, with the money being spread among a number of narcotic control and law enforcement efforts, including strengthening the northern border infrastructure and fighting drug and weapons smuggling.

The amendment simply increases funding for international narcotics control and law enforcement by $10 million and immediately reduces it again. The intent of the amendment is to redirect these funds to the designation for Mexico, devoting the $10 million specifically toward the counter of methamphetamine efforts. The money should not come from any other already designated account within international narcotics and law enforcement, but from those funds which have not yet been allocated either through the legislative language or committee report. We must provide the State Department with additional resources so

they can better stem the rising influx of methamphetamines produced by these Mexican drug cartels. My amendment would ensure that the State Department devotes its resources specifically toward stemming the rising influx of methamphetamine produced by these Mexican drug cartels.

I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize four students from West Salem High School in Salem, Oregon. These four students--Stefanie Gille, Amy Hafer, Tyler Klarr, and John Mai--won the Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision program, Grades 10-12 category. Their winning project, ``The Human Touch,'' is a prosthetic limb that integrates e-skin, skin-grafting techniques and nerve regeneration tubes to allow amputees to sense the world through artificial skin. Microprocessors translate texture, pressure, temperature, and vibration into sensations detected by the patient.

The inspiration for these students was Jim Henry, a special education teacher at West Salem who is an amputee. He challenged them to develop a design that would allow him and other amputees to regain the ability to feel objects with their prosthesis. With this as their focus, these students embarked on a year-long research project that culminated with them being recognized by the ExploraVision program as having the best project in a nationwide competition.

ExploraVision is a competition for students in grades K-12 from the United States and Canada. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students to combine their imaginations with the tools of science to create and explore a vision of a future technology. Students work in groups, along with a team coach, and select a technology or an aspect of a technology that is relevant to their lives. They explore what the technology does, how it works, and how, when, and why it was invented. The students must then project into the future what the technology could be like 20 years from now. Examples of projects from this year's winners include boots that convert electrical energy to heat to keep feet warm in cold weather and an asthma sensor monitoring system.

Earlier this week in the Science Committee, we wrestled with how to get more students interested in math, science, engineering, and technology. These students and their fellow award winners suggest to me that the cause is not lost, that it is possible to get today's students to love math and science. Today's students are tomorrow's scientists, mathematicians, and engineers and with students like Stefanie, Amy, Tyler, and John, the United States will continue to lead the world in technology and innovation.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that my amendment be considered in accordance with this modification.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this amendment, which has the support of all of my colleagues in the Oregon delegation. Our amendment, as agreed to by the chairman and the ranking member, would require the Secretary of the Army to supply Congress with a report no later than 60 days from the enactment of this act that outlines the Army's plan regarding the receipt of all CH-47 aircraft in the active and Reserve components.

I would like the record to reflect that it is my intent that this report should include a description of the Army's plan, timeline and the cost for the reset of those aircraft. I also believe that the Secretary should include the status of the current backlog and the options that currently exist to accelerate the reset program.

I want to thank Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton for working with us on this important issue to address our concerns. I look forward to working with them in the future to address the problems and obstacles that I anticipate will be identified in the Secretary's report regarding the reset program.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

I yield to the gentleman from California.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the First Christian Church of Monmouth. In the past 150 years, the members of this church have proven again and again the depth of their caring and giving, not just to their community, but to all those in need.

From 1850 to 1853 pioneers like Elijah Davidson, Ira F.M. Butler and others came to the Oregon Territory from their homes in Monmouth, Illinois--the inspiration for what became Monmouth, Oregon. These settlers, members of the Disciples of Christ Church, came to create a new community and school steeped in their religion and their values, tenets that they shared with the long history of pioneers going back to the beginnings of our nation. In 1856, Monmouth University (present-day Western Oregon University) was chartered, and it became the first home for the church.

Just as the buildings that house this faith community have changed and grown over the years, so has the church's congregation. Active in the community, their good works include a teen center for local youth as well as the home for the Monmouth chapter of Meals on Wheels. This congregation represents the heart of the community and the goodness in people which we should all strive to achieve.

I want to take this opportunity to honor this church for the efforts that they have made on behalf of the residents of Monmouth and students of Western Oregon University. On this, their sesquicentennial anniversary, I acknowledge and honor the First Christian Church of Monmouth for their service and dedication to their community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the city and citizens of Monmouth, Oregon, as they prepare to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the city's foundation. Monmouth is a city that understands the meaning of words like history, tradition, and most of all, community.

Since its incorporation in 1856 by members of what became the First Christian Church, the people of Monmouth have held firm to the values that make it an outstanding example of the AIl-American city. The city is home to Western Oregon University which was founded in the same year and is the oldest public university in Oregon, as well as Campbell Hall, the oldest building in the state's public higher education system. The campus of Western Oregon University is also home to one of the tallest Christmas trees in the U.S., a giant Sequoia planted by the students in 1879 that has

been nominated for inclusion in Oregon's Heritage Tree Program.

Monmouth is home to the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training which provides training facilities for both local and state law enforcement officers along with the Oregon Military Academy. The partnerships forged between the town and these institutions shows the dedication of the citizens to not just a safe community, but safe communities across Oregon and the nation.

Beautiful parks in Monmouth are large enough for city-wide festivals such as the annual Western Days Fourth of July celebration--which draw 10,000 visitors annually for the largest and longest patriotic festival in Oregon, yet intimate enough for families to gather and enjoy a day of recreation. Family-friendly activities are available year-round, from active sports programs to dance recitals to high school plays where the whole town comes out to show their support.

And so tomorrow, on this town's 150th birthday, I join the residents of Monmouth, Oregon, in celebrating the wonderful community that they have created.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the First Christian Church of Monmouth. In the past 150 years, the members of this church have proven again and again the depth of their caring and giving, not just to their community, but to all those in need.

From 1850 to 1853, pioneers like Elijah Davidson, Ira F.M. Butler and others came to the Oregon Territory from their homes in Monmouth, Illinois--the inspiration for what became Monmouth, Oregon. These settlers, members of the Disciples of Christ Church, came to create a new community and school steeped in their religion and their values, tenets that they shared with the long history of pioneers going back to the Pilgrims. In 1856, Monmouth University (present-day Western Oregon University) was chartered, and it became the first home for the church.

The First Christian Church has long since outgrown its small beginnings, a single 20 by 30 foot room on the comer of Monmouth Avenue and Church Street. The church moved to its current location in 1913 and remains there today, where it still acts as a staple of town fellowship and camaraderie.

Just as the buildings that house this faith community have changed and grown over the years, so has the church's congregation. Active in the community, their good works include a teen center for local youth as well as the home for the Monmouth chapter of Meals on Wheels. This congregation represents the heart of the community and the goodness in people which we should all strive to achieve.

I want to take this opportunity to honor this church for the efforts that they have made on behalf of the residents of Monmouth and students of Western Oregon University. On this, their sesquicentennial anniversary, I acknowledge and honor the First Christian Church of Monmouth for their service and dedication to their community.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I thank the chairman of the committee and the ranking member.

Container Security Devices, or CSDs, represent a ``today'' solution to secure the 14 million containers in circulation worldwide. The technology has been developed in conjunction with Customs and Border Protection and has been extensively tested and determined to be reliable.

Container Security Devices are a vast improvement over the bolt seal, which is the low-tech guard against tampering used today.

In addition to guarding against unauthorized container intrusions, many CSDs will be able to provide a wealth of additional data to U.S. Customs and DHS officials at U.S. ports. They can provide data on where a container has traveled from, the ports it has traveled through, and provide a unique, encrypted container ID.

Throughout its journey, the status of a CSD, tampered with or not, can be verified.

The amendment I am offering today is simple and straightforward. Currently, the bill, as written, simply defines a Container Security Device as a ``mechanical or electronic device designed to detect unauthorized intrusion of containers.''

My amendment changes that definition of a Container Security Device so it accomplishes three things. It will require a CSD positively identifies the container; that it detect and record any unauthorized intrusion of the container; have a false alarm rate that is demonstrated to be below 1 percent. Now, this is a minimum requirement. As written right now, this bill doesn't put a minimum requirement for the performances of container security devices.

Over the past year, DHS has conducted tests on multiple technologies from multiple vendors that would be capable of tracking, monitoring and securing containers against compromise. The Department has been very clear that, before incorporating these devices into government- sponsored programs, the device must meet a strict 1 percent false- positive threshold.

In addition to DHS, a coalition of industry groups supports this minimum requirement. The group includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Worldwide Shipping Council, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Business Alliance for Customs Modernization, and the American Trucking Association.

In the comments the coalition submitted to Senator Collins and Senator Murray of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security on the GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act, the companion bill to the SAFE Port Act, they explicitly state, ``Only Container Security Devices that meet the Department of Homeland Security's 99 percent false-positive and overall reliability requirements should be deemed qualified under this legislation.''

I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, if I may, I would like to answer the gentleman's question.

First of all, there is a definition in this bill.

Secondly, it doesn't have a minimum standard.

Now, the 1 percent is what the Department of Homeland Security asked for, that it is 99 percent accurate. However, it can be more than that. It can be 99.2, 99.5. That is the very minimum that has to happen. So it can go well beyond that.

Again, it is trying to make sure that you can take into account anything that has either been developed or on the market today or will be on the market so you have some flexibility and some competition amongst the companies.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

No, it doesn't mandate that it needs to be an RFID device. It doesn't mandate that.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Absolutely.

Correct.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an amazing group of students. The fifth and sixth graders of Lake Grove Elementary School in Lake Oswego, Oregon, have taught us all a lesson about helping those in need.

When these students learned about that many people around the world, and right in our own backyards, go hungry every day, they decided that they wanted to do something about it. They spearheaded an event called the Empty Bowl Project to raise awareness about hunger in their community and to benefit the Oregon Food Bank.

The idea behind the Empty Bowl Project is simple. Participants create ceramic bowls, and then serve a meal of soup and bread. Guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder that there are always Empty Bowls in the world. In exchange for a meal and the bowl, the guest gives a donation to a local hunger organization.

The Empty Bowl Project at Lake Grove consists of three parts. The fifth and sixth graders led their schoolmates in a food drive that has collected over 1,500 food items. Each class from pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade designed their own empty bowl to be raffled at the Soup Supper. And the culminating event will be held tonight with the fifth and sixth graders serving a meal of bread, soup, and water so that people gain a better understanding of what a real soup kitchen is like.

I want to take this opportunity to honor these students for the efforts that they have made on behalf of the hungry of Oregon. With students like these, the future in Oregon is bright indeed.

Mr. Speaker, today, on Workers' Memorial Day, we honor the 54 Oregonians and the millions around the world who have died on the job since last year. These men and women were more than just workers. They were fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, friends and co-workers.

On this 18th anniversary of the first Workers' Memorial Day in 1989, it is important not only to remember these people who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but to recognize the challenges and dangers facing employees in the workplace. We have made great strides as a Nation to address the issue of workplace safety. The Occupational Safety and Health Act, passed on April 28, 1971, has made a huge impact on workplace conditions. But we can, and we must, do better.

There is always hope for the future and our communities, our legislators and our businesses must work together to keep workplace safety a highest priority. I acknowledge these brave Oregonians, and look forward to this list growing ever shorter.

Justo Aguirre, Kurt Bell Heavy, Steven Brandt, Michael Breaux, Daniel Buckley, Brook Campbell, Gordon Cecil, Curtis Claflin, Howard Culver, David DeLacy, Loren Duncan, Thomas Ellsberg, Marty Erickson, Blake Foster, Robert Friedman, Dale Funk, Angel Gonzalez Cacho, Jason Gorman, Matthew Gregg, Rory Hanebrink, Mark Hauser, Harold Hawkins, David Henning, Lawrence Hoffman, Mark Howard, William Jobin, David Johnston, Christopher Jones, Brett Kulkarni, William Lanus, Paul Linck, Terry Little, Donald McCready, William McFarlane, Candace Mein, Bryant Myers, Kristine Okins, Ernest Oleman, Howard Pearsall, Mark Richardson, Gary Richey, Juan Rios, Vernon Robbins, Kevin Roberts, David Rossiter, Robert Smith, Gen Stewart, Joseph Sutton, Terry Sutton, Ronald Theus, Bobbi Thompson, Brian Tiller, Leobardo Velazquez, and Eric Yung.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the passing of a great Oregonian innovator, businessman, and friend. Richard L. Kohnstamm passed away last Friday, just days after his 80th birthday.

Like many Oregonians, Dick arrived in Oregon as a young man eager to forge his own future, and build his own adventure. What Dick couldn't possibly have known then, was that his future would become a true Oregon Legacy.

In 1955, Dick took over the management of Oregon's Historic Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. With his imagination, vision, and dedication, Dick transformed the lodge from a neglected public works building to an Oregon landmark.

He started the nation's first summer skiing, started a racing school, brought in Olympic Medalists as instructors, and completely revamped the lodge, making it a destination for Oregonians and visitors. With Dick's leadership, Timberline Lodge was the first ski area in the nation to receive the National Historic Landmark designation.

Dick met his wife Molly, and raised their four sons on the Mountain. He was a father figure to hundreds of young employees away from home. He was a leader. He was a visionary. He was a pioneer in the best Oregon tradition. He was an Oregon Icon.

I consider myself lucky to have known Dick, and I want to honor him for his extraordinary life and his many contributions to Mt. Hood and the State of Oregon.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize the Lake Oswego High School boys' basketball team as Oregon State 4A champions. Capping a storybook season, the Lakers brought home the state title for the first time ever.

The Lakers started strong this season, and never let up. They won 26 games to only 3 losses and were ranked No. 2 going into the championship game on Saturday, where they faced off against the No.1 South Medford Panthers. Like every good championship game, this one carne down to the final seconds with Lake Oswego winning 59-57.

This successful season for the Lakers was more than just the sum of their skill and talent. The team and coaches played all year with heart, desire, and the confidence that they could win it all. Congratulations to Coach Mark Shoff, the players, their families and friends, and the community who cheered them on throughout the season. I am proud to represent this team and its supporters in Congress, and will close with this:

Go Lakers!

I thank my colleague for yielding me time and for all the hard work that has gone on with methamphetamine, and I rise today in support of the Baird-Cardoza-Hooley amendment.

As meth has spread across this Nation, more and more States are taking action to cut off pseudoephedrine sales to meth makers who cannot make the poison without this common cold medication. But when 65 percent of the meth in this country comes from Mexico drug cartels, we cannot solve this problem through domestic means alone.

This amendment requires that our drug office join with other affected countries to coordinate an effective international response in order to prevent methamphetamine production and precursor diversion.

In a revealing investigation, the Oregonian newspaper determined that Mexico imports roughly 100 tons of pseudoephedrine more than is needed to fill its need for cold medicine. The rest, narcotic officials guess, is diverted from legitimate uses and turned into meth. Since roughly 200 tons of pseudoephedrine is needed to produce all the meth sold in the United States, this pseudoephedrine from Mexico can produce half of our Nation's supply of this deadly drug.

This amendment will bring together international leaders so they can work together and collaborate on a broad-based strategy that will not only keep meth away from our communities and families but would limit production and use of this deadly drug worldwide. I urge the support of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to thank Chairman Souder for all of his incredibly hard work that he has done on methamphetamine and all the work he has done in committee.

In my three decades of public service, I do not think I have ever seen a problem as pervasive or as damaging as the methamphetamine epidemic that is sweeping our country. This epidemic is tearing apart families, neighborhoods, communities. More and more States are taking action to cut off pseudoephedrine sales to methamphetamine manufacturers who cannot make this poison without this common-cold medication.

While a number of States, including Oregon, have enacted tough rules to control the availability of pseudoephedrine, this has become a national problem. The States need strong Federal support if we are going to have a fighting chance against this epidemic, and yet this administration and ONDCP have not focused on the drug as they should.

The meth epidemic is impacting all of us. Children in particular can face some of the most devastating effects, with tens of thousands of children suffering the consequences of their family meth habit. When parents crash after speeding on meth, their children are left to fend for themselves, sometimes for days. Parents can become abusive, and their children are exposed to highly toxic chemicals. The cost is overwhelming both in terms of human lives and financial resources needed to take care of our children.

Meth also brings increased crime to a community. A district attorney in Clackamas County, which is in my district, estimates that 99 percent of all ID thefts and 90 percent of all property crimes are related to meth.

This amendment would require the Office of National Drug Control Policy to submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy to address the increased threat of methamphetamine. The strategy would include interdiction and precursor chemical controls, demand reduction and treatment, efforts to prevent the diversion of precursor chemicals on an international level, and an assessment of the funding and resources necessary to significantly reduce the production and trafficking of methamphetamine.

ONDCP must make fighting meth a top priority, and this amendment would ensure that they did. The spreading of methamphetamine is a multifaceted problem ranging from the mom-and-pop labs to the sophisticated illegal drug factories in foreign countries. It is one that requires a multifaceted solution. We must take action to control the supply of, and access to, its ingredients both on a domestic and international level, which we have begun to do with the Combat Meth Act. But we also need to reduce the demand for this drug by educating our youth about the dangers of methamphetamine and ensure that addicts get the treatment they need.

The stated role of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nation's drug- control program. Their job is to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences; and yet they refuse to devote the resources or attention that is needed to fight our meth epidemic while more and more Americans become addicted to this deadly drug.

As any cop in America will tell you, methamphetamine is destroying our communities; and fighting the production and importation of this dangerous drug has been one of my top priorities as a Member of Congress. It is long past time for ONDCP to join in the fight, and this amendment will require them to do so, so we have a fighting chance in this battle.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.

I was talking to a gentleman the other day, and he was talking about his daughter who was addicted to methamphetamine. She had six children, and all of the children are now living with someone else. The mother spent more time in prison than she had out on the streets.

It is important that we have this kind of a treatment program for those in prison. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and my friend, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy), for putting this piece of legislation together.

In my 3 decades of public service, I do not think I have ever seen a problem as pervasive or damaging as the methamphetamine epidemic that is sweeping our country. While a number of States have enacted tough rules to control the availability of pseudoephedrine, this is not enough to solve the problem when the vast majority of meth consumed in this country is made in Mexico and smuggled into the U.S. by Mexican drug cartels.

If we are going to stop the flow of meth into this country, we must have better information about where the meth precursor chemicals are going, but we cannot do it alone. Foreign governments who import large quantities of meth precursors must take steps within their own countries to ensure these chemicals do not fall into the hands of meth producers and drug traffickers.

The spread of methamphetamine is a multifaceted problem ranging from the homemade mom and pop labs to the sophisticated illegal drug factories in foreign countries. This amendment represents an important step in dealing with the international meth production by preventing by diversion of precursor chemicals into the hands of meth producers.

I urge Members to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).

Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining?

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time and urge people to support this amendment. It is an important piece of legislation. It is time that we start dealing with this on an international level.

Again, I thank my cosponsor and all of the other people that have worked so hard on this legislation.

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

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes.

(Ms. HOOLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, my amendment represents a crucial step in the ongoing effort to stop the flow of methamphetamines into the United States. A cheap, easily manufactured drug that gives addicts an intense long-lasting high, meth has emerged as the drug of choice for users across this country. This amendment offers a solution to stopping this scourge by directing the State Department, through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, to engage in bilateral efforts with our friend and ally, Mexico, to cut down on the importation of methamphetamine precursor chemicals into Mexico and cut down on the smuggling of methamphetamines into the United States.

This amendment directs the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to work with the Mexican government to take immediate action to reduce the amount of pseudoephedrine in the hands of drug cartels, to work with Mexican law enforcement to improve their abilities to fight the production and trafficking of meth, and to improve efforts at the U.S.-Mexican border to prevent the smuggling of methamphetamines into the United States.

I believe that this amendment will in fact help prevent the export of meth into the United States. By engaging our allies to stop the mass production of meth rather than solely focusing on its limited domestic manufacturing, we can create a broad-based strategy that will not only keep meth away from our communities and families, but limit production and use of this deadly drug worldwide.

I call on my colleagues to support the Hooley-Souder-Kennedy-Baird amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Chairman, how much times remains on this side?

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time, and urge passage of this Hooley-Souder amendment, and I would like to thank my friends, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird), for all their hard work. They have been tremendous working on this methamphetamine legislation.

This is like a great big huge pipeline with meth coming into the United States, and we are committed to making sure that every single valve is turned off.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.