"This amendment will give local and state law enforcement important new tools and federal support as they fight methamphetamine production and trafficking in rural areas," Grassley said.
The amendment was offered to the comprehensive bankruptcy reform bill now making its way through the Senate. The anti-drug amendment was one of six un-related amendments offered to the bankruptcy bill. A final vote on the bill could occur this week or next.
Grassley said the amendment provides $500,000 to Iowa State University for research into chemical agents which could make anhydrous ammonia useless in the manufacture of meth without increasing the price of anhydrous ammonia to farmers, who rely on it for a source of nitrogen.
The amendment also increases penalties for trafficking anhydrous ammonia, making it unlawful to transport anhydrous ammonia across state lines.
In addition, the amendment which senators voted for 50 to 49 provides new funding the Drug Enforcement Administration to help state and local law enforcement with methamphetamine investigations and to establish a presence in rural areas. The DEA also would be charged with training state and local agencies in handling toxic waste created by methamphetamine labs.
The amendment makes restitution mandatory for costs incurred by the government for the clean-up of methamphetamine labs. It prohibits the posting of illegal drug recipes on the Internet when there is intent to commit a federal crime, and it clarifies that federal law prohibits the advertisement and sale of drug paraphernalia over the Internet. The amendment also includes legislation Grassley introduced earlier this year which called on government agencies to include anti-drug messages on their web sites.
The last methamphetamine legislation approved by Congress was the bipartisan bill authored in 1996 by Grassley and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. This measure mandated strict reporting requirements on the sale of large quantities of legal precursor chemicals which are used to manufacturer methamphetamine.