IOWA CONTINUES TO LEAD WAY IN FIGHT AGAINST METH

Methamphetamine is one of the most deadly, addictive, and rapidly
spreading drugs the United States has ever known. Unlike heroin or
crack, it is not a problem confined mostly to big, far-away cities.
Meth has spread its ugly tentacles into rural and urban communities
all across Iowa, and the destruction it is leaving in its path -
human, financial, and environmental - is staggering.

Thankfully, Iowa has taken some successful and concrete steps to
fight meth. Former Governor Tom Vilsack signed the nation's toughest
law restricting the sale of cold medicines containing
pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient in producing the drug. This
signaled an aggressive new phase in Iowa's fight against methamphetamine.

The Iowa tank lock program has also proved its mettle as a key weapon
in this ongoing war. I started the Iowa tank lock program in 2002 to
prevent the theft of anhydrous ammonia, a highly toxic chemical used
for fertilizer that is also a key ingredient in the creation of
methamphetamine. Using funds that I secured in Washington, local
sheriffs purchase special locks and work closely with agricultural
co-ops to install them on tanks containing anhydrous ammonia.

The Iowa tank lock program has proven to be a simple and inexpensive,
yet highly effective way to fight methamphetamine in Iowa
communities. The project began with $200,000 to buy tank locks for
the counties with the highest number of meth labs, and has since
expanded, allowing Iowa law enforcement officials to secure thousands
of tanks at a cost of about $45.00 each. I am very pleased that Iowa
law enforcement recently announced that they are taking the final
steps to complete the lockup of these tanks in all 99 counties.

A recent analysis by the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP)
demonstrates how effective these tank locks are: Counties with locked
tanks reported a five percent decrease in clandestine meth labs,
compared to a 113 percent increase in the amount of clandestine labs
in unlocked counties. According to the ODCP, when the locks are used
properly, they have proven to virtually eliminate anhydrous ammonia thefts.

I am proud that, through the tank lock project and our strict
pseudoephedrine control law, the state of Iowa has taken the lead in
fighting the proliferation of methamphetamine in the United States.
The U.S. Congress recently followed suit by passing the Combat Meth
Act in 2006. I was a co-sponsor of this bill, which requires all
products containing pseudoephedrine be kept behind retail counters in
the United States and limits how much pseudoephedrine a person may
buy. I hope that, through the passage of this law, we can extend
Iowa's success to the rest of the country.

Unfortunately, while Iowa has made some great strides in our struggle
against methamphetamine, the number of meth labs is again increasing.
It is no coincidence that this increase in labs has come at a time
when local law enforcement assistance programs have been decimated by
massive budget cuts. I have been fighting against these cuts for
years, and I remain committed to restoring funding to crucial local
law enforcement programs. It is also crucial that innovative drug
control initiatives like the Iowa tanks lock project are adequately funded.

I would like to commend Iowa law enforcement officials for their
continuing commitment to stopping the proliferation of
methamphetamine, and congratulate them for making progress in
securing anhydrous ammonia tanks statewide. We must continue to
implement innovative and successful projects like the tank lock
program if we are to win the fight against meth.