FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

SEC. 802. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY. (a) Findings.—Congress makes the following findings: (1) Teenage drug use in the United States has doubled since 1993. (2) The drug crisis facing the United States is a top national security threat. (3) The spread of illicit drugs through United States borders cannot be halted without an effective drug interdiction strategy. (4) Effective drug interdiction efforts have been shown to limit the availability of illicit narcotics, drive up the street price, support demand reduction efforts, and decrease overall drug trafficking and use. (5) A prerequisite for reducing youth drug use is increasing the price of drugs. To increase price substantially, at least 60 percent of drugs must be interdicted. (6) In 1987, the national drug control budget maintained a significant balance between demand and supply reduction efforts, illustrated as follows: (A) 29 percent of the total drug control budget expenditures for demand reduction programs.112 STAT. 2681–695 (B) 38 percent of the total drug control budget expenditures for domestic law enforcement. (C) 33 percent of the total drug control budget expenditures for international drug interdiction efforts. (7) In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, counternarcotic efforts were successful, specifically in protecting the borders of the United States from penetration by illegal narcotics through increased seizures by the United States Coast Guard and other agencies, including a 302 percent increase in pounds of cocaine seized between 1987 and 1991. (8) Limiting the availability of narcotics to drug traffickers in the United States had a promising effect as illustrated by the decline of illicit drug use between 1988 and 1991, through a— (A) 13 percent reduction in total drug use; (B) 35 percent drop in cocaine use; and (C) 16 percent decrease in marijuana use. (9) In 1993, drug interdiction efforts in the transit zones were reduced due to an imbalance in the national drug control strategy. This trend has continued through 1995 as shown by the following figures: (A) 35 percent for demand reduction programs. (B) 53 percent for domestic law enforcement. (C) 12 percent for international drug interdiction efforts. (10) Supply reduction efforts became a lower priority for the Administration and the seizures by the United States Coast Guard and other agencies decreased as shown by a 68 percent decrease in the pounds of cocaine seized between 1991 and 1996. (11) Reductions in funding for comprehensive interdiction operations like OPERATION GATEWAY and OPERATION STEELWEB, initiatives that encompassed all areas of interdiction and attempted to disrupt the operating methods of drug smugglers along the entire United States border, have created unprotected United States border areas which smugglers exploit to move their product into the United States. (12) The result of this new imbalance in the national drug control strategy caused the drug situation in the United States to become a crisis with serious consequences including— (A) doubling of drug-abuse-related arrests for minors between 1992 and 1996; (B) 70 percent increase in overall drug use among children aged 12 to 17; (C) 80 percent increase in drug use for graduating seniors since 1992; (D) a sharp drop in the price of 1 pure gram of heroin from $1,647 in 1992 to $966 in February 1996; and (E) a reduction in the street price of 1 gram of cocaine from $123 to $104 between 1993 and 1994. (13) The percentage change in drug use since 1992, among graduating high school students who used drugs in the past 12 months, has substantially increased-marijuana use is up 80 percent, cocaine use is up 80 percent, and heroin use is up 100 percent. (14) The Department of Defense has been called upon to support counter-drug efforts of Federal law enforcement 112 STAT. 2681–696agencies that are carried out in source countries and through transit zone interdiction, but in recent years Department of Defense assets critical to those counter-drug activities have been consistently diverted to missions that the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff consider a higher priority. (15) The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, through the Department of Defense policy referred to as the Global Military Force Policy, has established the priorities for the allocation of military assets in the following order: (1) war; (2) military operations other than war that might involve contact with hostile forces (such as peacekeeping operations and noncombatant evacuations); (3) exercises and training; and (4) operational tasking other than those involving hostilities (including counter-drug activities and humanitarian assistance). (16) Use of Department of Defense assets is critical to the success of efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs from source countries and through transit zones to the United States. (17) The placement of counter-drug activities in the fourth and last priority of the Global Military Force Policy list of priorities for the allocation of military assets has resulted in a serious deficiency in assets vital to the success of source country and transit zone efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. (18) At present the United States faces few, if any, threats from abroad greater than the threat posed to the Nation’s youth by illegal and dangerous drugs. (19) The conduct of counter-drug activities has the potential for contact with hostile forces. (20) The Department of Defense counter-drug activities mission should be near the top, not among the last, of the priorities for the allocation of Department of Defense assets after the first priority for those assets for the war-fighting mission of the Department of Defense. (b) Statement of Policy.—It is the policy of the United States to— (1) reduce the supply of drugs and drug use through an enhanced drug interdiction effort in the major drug transit countries, as well support a comprehensive supply country eradication and crop substitution program, because a commitment of increased resources in international drug interdiction efforts will create a balanced national drug control strategy among demand reduction, law enforcement, and international drug interdiction efforts; and (2) develop and establish comprehensive drug interdiction and drug eradication strategies, and dedicate the required resources, to achieve the goal of reducing the flow of illegal drugs into the United States by 80 percent by as early as January 1, 2003.