CONGRESSIONAL SUBCOMMITTEE HEARS FROM METH WAR'S FRONT LINES

Law enforcement, community and business reps testify

A congressional subcommittee heard testimony from the front lines of the
Siouxland war against methamphetamine Monday.

Fifth District Rep. Tom Latham hosted Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of
the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, for
the hearing at the Sioux City Convention Center.

They heard testimony from state and local law enforcement officials, heads
of community-based anti-drug efforts, and from businesses coping with drug
use among workers. The session was one of about a dozen held nationwide
each year.

[Photo with Caption: U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, right, gestures while
speaking during the U.S. House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Criminal
Justicehearing on "The Midwest Methamphetamine Epidemic" Monday in Sioux
City. At left is U.S. Rep. JohnThune, R-S.D. (Staff photo by Tim Hynds)]

Rep. John Thune, R-S.D., joined his colleagues in questioning the
panelists, although he is not a member of the subcommittee, an
investigation and oversight body of the Committee on Government Reform.

Testimony included a call for better control of illegal immigrants' entry
and more jail space, funding for the training of small-town police and
firefighters, sustained anti-drug education and empowerment of parents, as
well as for more acceptance of drug testing in the workplace.

Law enforcement was represented by Sioux City Police Chief Joe Frisbie;
Sgt. Marti Reilly, supervisor of the Tri-State Drug Task Force; and E.A.
Penny Westphall, Iowa commissioner of public safety.

Linda Phillips, executive director of Siouxland CARES, and Carla Van
Hofwegen, board member of a Christian coffee house in Spencer, Iowa,
presented community efforts.

The panel representing business included Leroy Schoon, owner of Schoon
Construction Inc. in Cherokee, Iowa, and Jamey Miller, who operates a
workplace drug and safety program for Rudy Salem Staffing Services.

In his opening remarks, Mica said drug abuse is becoming an increasing
problem in rural areas. He cited arecent white paper that showed that
eighth-graders living in rural America are 104 percent more likely to use
amphetamines, 83 percent more likely to use crack cocaine and 34 percent
more likely to smoke marijuana, than their urban counterparts.

He called for "close cooperation in a comprehensive, regional approach" and
questioned the sworn panelists on what the federal government could do to
best help them.

Reilly told the congressmen that most of the methamphetamine in Sioux City
comes from California where it is manufactured with ingredients from
Mexico. It is brought here mostly by undocumented Hispanic men who operate
under cover of the area's growing legal Hispanic population, he said. He
said 50 to 60 percent of drug arrests are undocumented Hispanics.

Reilly said the meth is increasingly transported in compartmentalized
vehicles such as semi-trucks or RVs. "I think our roadways are inundated,"
he said. He asked for federal help in curbing illegal entry and in
deportation, as well as for help in tracking money laundering.
Specifically, Reilly said he would like to add to the task force an IRS
agent with Criminal Investigation Division training.

Frisbie cited the "light years" of advancement in drug enforcement and
inter-agency cooperation in the 1990s. He said, given more funding, he
would apply it to more manpower for investigation and prosecution. He asked
for federal support of a new global information system (GIS) to track and
share information, but especially for help with jail overcrowding. "We have
become victims of our own success, with our jails filled beyond capacity,"
he said. "We're very exasperated with this problem."

Westphall noted that home-made meth is a growing concern. In 1995, just
eight manufacturing labs were discovered in Iowa. Last year, more than 500
were "busted" by local and state authorities. She asked for more crime lab
space and equipment "as soon as possible" and for financial help for
jurisdictions that must pay for costly clean-up of the volatile and
environmentally hazardous labs.

Frisbie noted that it is difficult for small-town officers to get training,
even though it's free. They need someone to "backfill" while they're gone,
and they need to pay them, he told the subcommittee.

Phillips, calling herself "a globalist," said solutions must include
education, intervention and treatment. She cited DARE education and called
for a structured anti-drug curriculum across all grade levels.

Phillips said the solution is to reduce demand for drugs. "The supply will
be there as long as there is demand," she said. She also urged making
treatment more available. "If we could give treatment to every kid who
needs it, we would be saving money down the road." She urged that federal
dollars be given to communities to build the programs they think they need.
"Make us responsible," she said.

Van Hofwegen told the subcommittee about Spencer, Iowa's Christian coffee
house, Hava Java. Supported by area churches, it is "both a hangout and a
haven," featuring entertainment with a positive message, she said. She
noted that the nonprofit offers a place to build relationships and reasons
to be drug free. As a former teacher and school board member, she urged the
Congressmen to target parents and empower them in the fight against drugs.

[Photo With Caption: Sioux City Police Chief Joe Frisbie, left, testifies
during the U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee hearing on the
methamphetamine problem in the Midwest Monday in Sioux City. (Staff photo
by Tim Hynds]

John Schoon testified that his company had instituted a 100 percent
pre-employment drug testing policy last year. It has resulted in better
applicants, fewer accidents and better productivity. However, he told the
congressmen, it doesn't solve the community's drug problem. The rejected
workers simply "go down the street and get a job with no (drug) screen."
Schoon urged more businesses to institute drug screening.

In response to a question from Mica, he said the company's success when a
drug user has been sent for treatment hasn't been good. They go for a few
days, then get a job with another firm.

Miller said he has personally tested 1,396 workers for drug use in the past
26 months. Of those, 1,107 were negative and 289 either came up "hot" -- or
positive for drug -- or walked out, refusing to be tested. "I have only two
or three (companies) participating. I think others are afraid" of losing
workers, he said.

Miller said the federal governmentcould do a better job educating employers
about drug screening. Both he and Schoon said they would rather any
mandatory screening be an action of the state, not federal government.

While the hearing brought forth interdiction, education, treatment and
sentencing, several witnesses and Latham concluded that parents are the
first front in the drug war. "Wake up the parents and tell them to talk to
their kids. Statistically, it's the best way," he said. He wondered how to
reach the parents who don't involve themselves.

Van Hofwegen called on other adults to step in to provide companionship and
a role model for children whose parents may be drug users. Phillips
advocated more parent networking. "Catch them," she said of kids using
drugs at unsupervised parties and other occasions. "Consequences are
important. We need to switch the norm. It takes time, but not money."