MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SHOULD TAKE THE LEAD IN WAR ON DRUGS

The war on drugs has been one of my highest priorities since coming to
Congress, and I've worked for years on an issue that I believe to be very
important - drug testing for members of Congress.

Drug testing first came to my attention about a decade ago, during a town
hall meeting in the district. A constituent asked whether I was required to
submit to a drug test, as he was in his company. It was then I recognized
the absurdity that elected officials, representing thousands of people's
interests, are not held to the same standard as millions of other Americans
in the workforce.

This realization prompted me to take action. I instituted a system of
random drug testing for my entire congressional staff. Each time one of my
staff is tested, I am too. Then, I began a campaign to see that all members
of Congress be submitted to random drug tests as well. I believe that as
leaders, it is important to practice what we preach. We cannot expect to
achieve a drug free America if members of Congress do not show leadership
by demonstrating their commitment personally.

I do not expect that implementing drug testing in the House of
Representatives will uncover serious drug use by members of Congress. By
exempting ourselves, however, we send the wrong message to young people.

According to a recent national survey, drug use among high school students
is rising - with 42 percent of high school seniors admitting they have used
illicit drugs. Congress must set a good example, and show that successful
people do not use drugs.

I have become increasingly aware of how widespread drug testing is in many
of the businesses in the Arlington-D/FW area and across the nation. Drug
use has continued to increase since the early 1990s, and more employers are
making drug testing a priority. A recent Associated Press story stated that
about 8 percent of full-time workers - or 6.3 million Americans - have used
illegal drugs in the past month.

One of my first efforts toward implementing a drug testing program in
Congress was to draft legislation to require all members of the House to be
tested.

In 1991, when I first introduced the legislation, it was considered by the
House, and passed by a vote of 226 to 190, but was later stripped by the
House/Senate Conference Committee. I have introduced this bill continually
since that time.

In September 1996, I organized a Drug Testing Awareness Day, at which
Members were voluntarily tested. More than 30 Members of Congress were
tested for drug use, demonstrating their commitment to a drug-free
workplace and living by the same rules as other Americans.

Additionally, in both the 105th and 106th Congress' House rules, there has
been a provision which requires that the Speaker of the House to develop a
drug testing system for the House of Representatives, modeled after the
programs currently used in the Executive Agencies, including the White
House. I worked on getting this provision into the House Rules in both
Congresses.

In October of last year I introduced House Resolution 331, which includes a
provision to require drug testing of employees and staff of the House of
Representatives. This bill will also allow for hair testing as an
alternative to the traditional urinalysis testing for drug use.

Hair testing provides information on possible drug use going back as far as
90 days, whereas the urine test only provides a window of the two to four
days before the test to detect possible drug use.

It is my sincere hope that the House leadership will implement a drug
testing plan, as mandated by the House Rule, or that the House will pass
and implement my legislation to ensure that members of each Congress are
required to submit to random drug tests. I will be working hard on each of
these avenues in the coming months. As U.S. representatives, it is time
that we take responsibility and set positive examples for our young people
by taking a stand against drugs.

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton represents parts of Arlington and Grand Prairie. He is
running unopposed for re-election in November.