Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2829 - Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)

(Rep. Souder (R) Indiana and Rep. Tom Davis (R) Virginia)

The Administration supports reauthorization of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which is crucial to reducing drug use in the United States. The Administration commends the Government Reform, Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary Committees for addressing this important issue. However, the Administration cannot support H.R. 2829 in its current form because of concerns with several key provisions of the bill that would seriously damage the effectiveness of ONDCP.

By designating the Director of ONDCP as a Cabinet level official, the bill infringes on the prerogatives of the Executive. The bill duplicates the drug country certification process, which is most appropriately a State Department responsibility. The position of United States Interdiction Coordinator should remain at the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for the vast majority of resources dedicated to interdiction in the National Drug Control Strategy. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking program should be reauthorized within the Department of Justice, to improve coordination with the Department's drug control programs. The provisions related to the National Drug Control Budget would inflate the size of the budget while distorting the true cost of drug control efforts. The ONDCP Director should retain flexibility to allocate appropriated resources without the bill's specific limits and thresholds for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. The reduction in the threshold for ONDCP approval of reprogrammings and transfers of funds would reduce agencies' flexibility to react to changing circumstances in carrying out the National Drug Control Strategy.

In addition, the Administration has additional constitutional concerns and other reservations with some of the provisions of H.R. 2829.

The Administration will continue to work with Congress to produce an ONDCP Reauthorization bill that does not raise these concerns.