Orrin Hatch: “This is an amendment to reauthorize the Office of the National Drug Control Policy. In this era of passivity and neglect…”

“This is an amendment to reauthorize the Office of the National Drug Control Policy. In this era of passivity and neglect toward what I believe should remain a vigorous war on drugs, we as Americans must refuse to give up the fight against a youth drug plague that is threatening to erode the very core of our society. To do this, we must mount an unflappable effort against this drug scourge that continues to tighten its grip on our nation's children. Faced with such an ominous task, it is essential that the Office of National Drug Control Policy be maintained as the principal clearing house for the formulation and implementation of our nation's comprehensive counter-drug strategy. As a nation we simply cannot continue to turn our backs while drug abuse continues to run rampant among our youth. For this reason I implore each of my colleagues to support the Hatch/ Biden amendment, a substitute to H.R. 2610. This amendment truly represents a bipartisan effort to craft legislation that gives the office a meaningful reauthorization period and strengthens ONDCP's authority over drug control program agencies. In an effort to erase this Administration's abdication of its responsibilities to the Congress, the bill requires enhanced reporting requirements on the effectiveness of the National Drug Control strategy thus imposing far greater accountability to the Congress.”