Orrin Hatch: “a number of us have spent countless hours trying to devise a plan to turn back the dreadful tide of methamphetamine…”

“a number of us have spent countless hours trying to devise a plan to turn back the dreadful tide of methamphetamine abuse which is now beginning to flow westward across the United States, threatening to engulf both cities and rural areas. We have now crafted such a plan, a bipartisan plan which meets those goals, we have introduced as S. 1965, the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996. I rise to ask my colleagues' support for this legislation and for the amendments to that bill that have allowed it to win near unanimous support. Mr. President, we have all seen the recent alarming reports indicating that drug abuse has increased during the tenure of the Clinton administration. Today, the Congress can take an important step to curb our nation's recent backsliding on the drug issue. I am proud to point out that this is a bipartisan measure--I think this is how drug policy should be made--and I wish to thank all of our cosponsors: Senators Biden; Grassley; Feinstein; Wyden; Daschle; DeWine; Specter; D'Amato; Harkin; Ashcroft; Reid; Kyl; Feingold; and McCain. I wish to thank especially the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Biden, for his help in developing this legislation.”