Steve Pearce: “I rise to support the Republican motion to recommit. Last year, I held nearly 40 town hall meetings across New Mexico…”

“I rise to support the Republican motion to recommit. Last year, I held nearly 40 town hall meetings across New Mexico talking to our local communities about combating methamphetamine use in our towns. Twenty of these meetings were in schools with our school kids, and we found that five times the national average of kids in New Mexico are addicted to methamphetamines, up to 15 percent of our elementary and high school students are already addicted. Two weeks ago, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and I announced our bipartisan determination to fight the dangerous scourge of methamphetamine use, production and distribution in our State. Tragically, the majority's ill-considered cuts will slash funding for the Drug Enforcement Administration Mobile Enforcement Teams, the MET teams, by $30 million and 134 agents, and Region Enforcement Teams, the RETs, by $9 million and 23 agents. Our local and State law enforcement officers depend on the MET and RET initiative as two of the most effective tools in this fight. Many officers in my district have told me that even at current level of funding, MET is insufficient. Perhaps the majority leadership has decided battles against illegal drugs are not worth fighting.”