[House Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG POLICY COMMISSION ACT OF 2014
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MARKUP
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H.R. 4640
__________
MAY 30, 2014
__________
Serial No. 113-145
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Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California Samoa
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
TED POE, Texas GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MATT SALMON, Arizona THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina KAREN BASS, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
MO BROOKS, Alabama DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
PAUL COOK, California JUAN VARGAS, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, Massachusetts
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania AMI BERA, California
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
RON DeSANTIS, Florida GRACE MENG, New York
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
TED S. YOHO, Florida JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
SEAN DUFFY, Wisconsin
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
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Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
MATT SALMON, Arizona, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina Samoa
RON DeSANTIS, Florida THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
C O N T E N T S
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Page
MARKUP OF
H.R. 4640, To establish the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy
Commission..................................................... 2
Amendment to H.R. 4640 offered by the Honorable Matt Salmon, a
Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona, and
chairman, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere............. 14
APPENDIX
Markup notice.................................................... 18
Markup minutes................................................... 19
Markup summary................................................... 20
WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG POLICY COMMISSION ACT OF 2014
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FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:45 a.m., in
room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Matt Salmon
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Salmon. The subcommittee will come to order. Pursuant
to notice, I call up H.R. 4640, the Western Hemisphere Drug
Policy Commission Act of 2014, and I ask unanimous consent that
the text of H.R. 4640 is modified by Salmon Amendment 54 that
was provided to your office on Wednesday be considered base
text for the purposes of markup. So ordered.
Without objection, the base text is considered read, and
open for amendment at any point, and all members may have 5
days to insert remarks for the record. And I recognize myself
to speak on this measure.
[The information referred to follows:]
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Mr. Salmon. Today the subcommittee meets to consider H.R.
4640, a bill to establish the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy
Commission. I want to thank the full committee, Ranking Member
Eliot Engel and his staff, as well as Representative Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Member Sires for joining Mr. Engel and
me in moving this piece of legislation forward.
We have learned in recent subcommittee hearings that the
transnational criminal organizations and narcotics traffickers
continue to operate with impunity throughout the Western
Hemisphere region, and have become increasingly sophisticated
and violent. The United States has partnered with Mexico, as
well as Central American and Caribbean countries, to build
capacity for those governments to deal with the grave security
situation. Through the Merida Initiative, the Central American
Regional Security Initiative, and the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative, we have been helping to give these
partners deg. countries the tools they need to
confront the scourge of these transnational criminal
organizations. We need to do all we can to confront this
threat, particularly because this violence is happening right
at our doorstep. Naturally, we need to be sure we are using
taxpayer resources wisely, and that we are employing the most
effective strategies. The fact is, drug policy in the Western
Hemisphere has been costly, and has had mixed results. While
CRS has determined, we have spent upwards of $16 billion on
this effort since the 1980s, some outside experts have come up
with less conservative estimates nearing the $1-trillion mark
spent on counterdrug efforts in Latin America since 1970. That
is a lot of hard-earned taxpayer money without results to
match. This bill will mandate a commission to determine what
has worked, what hasn't, and what needs to be done going
forward. That is common sense.
I have included an amendment that places a firm limit on
spending for this commission, not to exceed $2 million provided
in the bill. This is a small investment to determine our best
practices going forward to ensure that future U.S. taxpayer
funds are realizing the results that were intended. Thank you
again, Ranking Member Engel, for your work on this issue. It is
time to get this effort right, not only for the security of our
country and communities, but for the taxpayer and those tasked
with leading the fight. And I now recognize Mr. Engel for his
remarks.
Mr. Engel. Thank you very much, Chairman Salmon. Thank you
very much for holding today's markup of the Western Hemisphere
Drug Policy Commission Act, and thank you for being the lead
Republican sponsor of this bill. I also appreciate Ranking
Member Sires' leadership on this subcommittee, and his co-
sponsorship of our bill. And as a former chairman of this
subcommittee, I want to tell you it is always good to be back.
This legislation would create an independent commission to
evaluate U.S. policies aimed at reducing drug production and
trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. The commission will be
required to submit recommendations on future U.S. drug policy
to Congress, the Secretary of State, and the Director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, 12 months after its
first meeting.
A similar bill which I authored passed the House of
Representatives unanimously in 2009. It didn't pass the Senate.
That is why we are here. I am determined to bring this bill
across the finish line and to the President's desk this time
around. With $15.7 billion spent on counternarcotics programs
in Latin America and the Caribbean between 1980 and 2012, it is
important to take stock of what has worked, what has not
worked, and what future U.S. drug policy should look like.
While billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent over the
years to fight the drug trade, illegal drug use in our country
remains high. In particular, I am concerned by the dramatic
increase in heroin use in our country. Attorney General Eric
Holder recently noted that heroin overdose deaths in the United
States increased by an alarming 45 percent between 2006 and
2010.
On the supply side, nearly all cocaine consumed in the
United States originates in South America, while most heroin
consumed here is from Colombia, Mexico, Central America, and
the Caribbean are key transit regions for drugs entering our
country. I am particularly concerned that the drug trade has
shifted back to the Caribbean with 16 percent of cocaine
imports into the United States coming through the Caribbean
last year, compared to 4 percent in 2011.
To tackle our Nation's horrific drug problem once and for
all, we must have a better sense of what works, and what does
not work. Our partners in the Americas who have worked closely
with us in fighting drug trafficking for years, and the
citizens of our great country who deal every day with illegal
drugs on their streets deserve no less.
So in closing, I would like to once again thank Chairman
Salmon for holding this morning's markup, and I urge my
colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. Thank you.
Mr. Salmon. Thank you, Mr. DeSantis, did you seek
recognition?
Mr. DeSantis. No.
Mr. Salmon. All right. Are there any further amendments to
the base text? No? Hearing no further amendments, the question
is on agreeing to H.R. 4640 as amended. All those in favor, say
aye.
All those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the Chair the ayes have it and the text
is agreed to.
Without objection H.R. 4640 as amended will be reported
favorably to the full Committee on Foreign Affairs and staff is
directed to make any technical and conforming changes. And that
concludes our business, and without objection, the subcommittee
stands adjourned.
That has got to be a record, right? Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 9:50 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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Material Submitted for the Record
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