Kit Bond: “I am sympathetic to arguments that a comprehensive drug policy requires drug treatment on demand, and I am committed to…”

“I am sympathetic to arguments that a comprehensive drug policy requires drug treatment on demand, and I am committed to finding ways to help those who have the courage to kick their addiction, but I would point out that these law enforcement officers have shared their belief that "drug rehabilitation is a naturally occurring process and no amount of Federal dollars can speed up the process." It is certainly not scientifically accurate, but I would just state to my colleagues that in the hearings in the Labor, HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, when we had before us the Commissioner of Social Security, we inquired about the effectiveness of the SSI, supplemental security income payments to drug and alcohol abusers. We asked if they knew what the rate of success in treating them had been under that particular program. As I understand it, the example that they cited was a study of 197 people who had been on the program. As I recall the statistics, they said that of the 197 people that had been on for 3 years, 20 percent had actually left the program; 10 percent died; 10 percent went to prison; and 1 person was cured. That raises a real question in my mind about the efficacy of our current programs to deal with the problem of drug abuse by rehabilitation alone. I cannot stand by and watch the Clinton administration cut funding for drug-related crime fighting and interdiction by nearly 2 percent below its 1993 levels.”