House committee approves tribal meth legislation

Thursday, February 8, 2007  

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed H.R.545, the Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act, on Wednesday.

The bill would tribal governments eligible for three grant programs -- the COPS Hot Spots program, the Drug-Endangered Children program and the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders program. Tribes were "unintentionally left out" by Congress, Rep. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) said.

"Our criminal justice, child welfare, and substance abuse systems in Native American country face substantial obstacles in their tremendous fight against meth," said Udall, the primary sponsor of the bill. "This legislation seeks to provide assistance in the fight by allowing tribes, consistent with tribal sovereignty, to apply for these grants just as states can."

The Hot Spots program provides funding for a broad range of initiatives designed to assist state and local law enforcement in anti-meth initiatives.

The Drug-Endangered Children Grant Program provides comprehensive services to assist children who live in a home where meth has been used, manufactured and sold.

The Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders Grant Program is designed to facilitate cooperation between the criminal justice, child welfare, and substance abuse systems in order to reduce the use of drugs by pregnant women and those with dependent children.

Two closely-related versions of the bill are pending in the Senate.

Meth Legislation:
Indian Tribes Methamphetamine Reduction Grants Act (S.85) | Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act (S.267) | Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act (H.R.545) | Methamphetamine Trafficking Enforcement Act (S.132) | Family-Based Meth Treatment Access Act (H.R.405)

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