Lee Terry: “I rise in support of the Hooley-Souder amendment to H.R. 2601. I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.…”

“I rise in support of the Hooley-Souder amendment to H.R. 2601. I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. This amendment will authorize $4 million in 2006 and 2007 to help prevent the smuggling of methamphetamine from Mexico to the United States. It authorizes the Secretary of State to work with Mexican government and law enforcement officials to improve their abilities to fight the production and trafficking of meth. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 90 percent of the meth available in my home state of Nebraska is trafficked from Mexico, California and the southwestern states. Nationwide, 65 percent of available meth was smuggled into the U.S. by Mexican drug cartels and gangs. During a routine traffic stop last January, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Nebraska seized five pounds of meth from two Mexican nationals who had concealed the drug inside a spare tire in the trunk. In March, an 8-month investigation culminated in the arrest of five Mexican and Hispanic drug cartel members. Law enforcement officials seized 12.5 pounds of meth being transported to Omaha from California. Although 90 percent of the meth problem in Nebraska stems from international and intrastate drug trafficking, local law enforcement officers must spend the majority of their resources fighting home-based meth labs.…”