"The Money Laundering Enforcement Act" and "The Combating Drugs in Prisons Act"

April 30, 1998

Today, joined by Senators Daschle, Kohl, Feinstein, and Cleland, I am introducing legislation which will provide state and federal governments with additional tools to fight drug trafficking, money laundering and drug use in prisons. This legislation is intended to complement the Administration's comprehensive 10year National Drug Control Strategy by providing federal prosecutors with additional means to seize assets linked to illegal criminal and drug activity and prevent drug kingpins and others from engaging in money laundering. In addition, this legislation will allow states to use federal prison grant funds to test and treat drugaddicted inmates and parolees.

I note that the Speaker of the House today is hosting a Republican rally to proclaim fault with the Administration's comprehensive drug control strategy. Mr. President, the bill that we are introducing today is not the easy rhetoric that some have to offer in this crucial area of public policy. Here is a chance to actually make a difference. I do not find constructive the efforts of the other body's Republican leadership over the past few years to slash assistance for drug enforcement, prevention and treatment programs. Twice, in fact, they tried to cut the extremely effective Safe and DrugFree Schools funding by 50 percent, just as they significantly reduced support for drug prevention and treatment programs when they assumed leadership of the Congress in 1995.

Nor do I consider it constructive for Speaker Gingrich, as he did in his February radio address, to fault the Administration while at the same time claiming credit for such Administration strategies as a national youthoriented antidrug campaign and added support for community programs and schools. These are key components of the Administration's 1998 National Drug Control Strategy, including the highly effective radio and TV ads now airing in 12 pilot cities. To really make a difference in more than just the headlines, we need to work together to reduce the quantity of drugs coming into this country and the number of drug addicts both in prison and walking our streets.

Money Laundering Act of 1998:

This act will help prosecutors force international criminals out of the darkness and into the light by greatly reducing their ability to hide behind foreign banking laws or other procedural tricks. It will also ensure that defendants arrested overseas are no longer able to use the U.S. courts to their benefit while fighting against being extradited to the United States.

Another provision in this bill which allows federal prosecutors to temporarily seize U.S. assets owned by individuals arrested overseas will greatly enhance law enforcement's ability to shut down drug trafficking operations based outside the United States. National boundaries mean less and less to drug kingpins and other criminals today and this legislation will help us reform our nation's laws to reflect this reality.

This bill would allow a brief ex parte seizure of assets while any arrest papers are in transit to prevent individuals arrested in another country from moving the fruits of their crimes from the United States to another country. Currently, foreign defendants often move their assets virtually instantaneously via electronic transfers while our prosecutors are waiting for the arrest records. In addition, defendants would no longer be able to hide behind foreign bank secrecy laws while they claim seized property in United States courts.

This bill makes important procedural changes for federal prosecutors: it extends U.S. jurisdiction over foreign banks; updates evidentiary rules regarding foreign records; allows federal prosecutors to charge defendants who engage in multiple illegal acts with course of conduct claims; and allows prosecutors to charge criminals with conspiracy to violate the laws.

This legislation also adds several new crimes to the list triggering asset forfeiture, including crimes of violence, additional foreign crimes, and crimes committed by or against foreign governments. While I believe that these provisions are necessary for prosecutors to carry out their important work, I realize that some of these provisions may need to be finetuned to accomplish their intended goal. I pledge to work with members on both sides of the aisle to ensure that this legislation is broad enough to meet these goals without being overly intrusive.

In drafting this bill, I have purposely avoided including several domestic asset forfeiture provisions. While we may have to face these thorny issues down the road, I decided to craft a bill which I believe can be supported by the majority of Senators. We can then bring up these more complicated issues after a fuller discussion has taken place.

The Combating Drug Abuse in Prisons Act:

This act will allow states to use any of the funds they receive under the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth in Sentencing grant programs to provide drug testing and treatment for inmates and other courtsupervised individuals, such as probationers and parolees. With 80 percent of inmates reportedly linked to drug and alcohol activity and with a requirement in place that states develop and implement a drug testing and treatment plan for these individuals by September 1, 1998, it is critical that this federal funding be made available for these purposes.

According to a study recently released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) based at Columbia University, 80 percent of individuals currently incarcerated either "violated drug or alcohol laws, were intoxicated at the time they committed their crimes, stole property to buy drugs, or are 'regular drug users'." This study also found that inmates who are illegal drug or alcohol abusers are the most likely to be repeat offenders. In fact, this study concluded that 61 percent of state prison inmates who have two prior convictions are regular drug users. Another recent study, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, found that over half of all convicted jail inmates in 1996 reported having used drugs in the month prior to their offense. Sixty percent of these inmates also reported using drugs or alcohol or both at the time of the offense for which they were charged.

If we want to stem the increase in our nation's prison population, we must determine which inmates are addicted to drugs or alcohol, reduce the availability of drugs in prisons and ensure inmates have access to the treatment they need while incarcerated. This bill will help states meet all these goals by allowing them to use as much as they choose or as little of the federal prison funds they receive for drug testing and intervention and to develop strategies to reduce drug trafficking into prisons. As Joseph Califano, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and president of CASA, noted when the CASA study was released: "Releasing drugaddicted inmates without treatment helps maintain the market for illegal drugs and support drug dealers."

I realize some of my colleagues may be concerned about funds originally designated for prison construction costs being used for drug testing and treatment. Let me assure you that states will retain complete flexibility under this bill as to how they allocate their Truth in Sentencing and Violent Offender Incarceration grant funds. But, I'd also like to point out that according to the CASA study, it would cost states approximately $6,500 per year to provide comprehensive and effective residential drug treatment services to an inmate. While this figure may seem high, the study further determined that society will see an economic return of $68,800 for each inmate who successfully completes such a program and returns to the community sober and with a job. This figure represents the savings in the first year based on the much lower likelihood that the former inmate will be arrested, prosecuted or incarcerated and includes health care savings and the potential earnings of a drugfree individual.

James Walton, Vermont's Commissioner of Public Safety, wholeheartedly supports this legislation, and I have always valued his counsel. As the head of Vermont's law enforcement agency, he has firsthand knowledge of what the real needs are in my state. Clearly, he believes that this legislation will have a positive effect on ongoing law enforcement and drug control strategies in Vermont. I'm certain it will have the same effect across the country. I urge my colleagues to support this bill so our federal and state officials have the resources they need to combat our nation's drug problems both overseas and in our nation's prisons.