Mark Souder: “Madam Speaker, it is appropriate and an honor that the first legislation we are to address upon our return is to fund…”

“Madam Speaker, it is appropriate and an honor that the first legislation we are to address upon our return is to fund community-based drug prevention programs. Nothing is tearing at the social fabric of our Nation like the abuse of illegal narcotics and alcohol. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program Reauthorization Act is one of the cornerstones of our national strategy to reduce the demand for illegal drugs; and its reauthorization has strong bipartisan support, not only here in the House, but also in communities across the Nation. The bill is also a priority for the Bush administration. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program, administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, works to prevent drug use among youth at the community level by providing Federal financial incentives for coalitions to join together at the local level to keep their children from using drugs. This legislation will reauthorize the program for 5 years through fiscal year 2007 and improve the services provided to grantees in several important ways.”