According to Grassley, Iowa has qualified to receive such federal funding for at least 17years. However a provision of the Public Health Service Act, Section 1926, directs the Secretaryof HHS to reduce a state's substance abuse and treatment federal block grant by 40 percent if thestate fails to achieve compliance targets for underage tobacco purchases.
In the statistics compiled for 1998, Iowa failed to meet a targeted goal to restrict teenaccess to tobacco products and stands to lose $5 million.
"If these funds dry up, it will deal a devastating blow to our state," said Grassley. "Iowais making a good-faith effort to reduce tobacco sales to underage youth. What's more, we'reworking overtime to handle the incredible methamphetamine problem. Slashing prevention andtreatment dollars is simply the wrong approach."
In a two-page letter sent last week, Grassley outlined Iowa's on-going efforts to meet thestandards for curbing underage access to tobacco and asked Secretary Shalala to considergranting Iowa a waiver. The Iowa senator wrote, "I believe that Iowa has experiencedcircumstances that justify an exception, and should not have its funding cut off for programs thatare designed to address the exact problem that caused the punishment."
Grassley warned that up to half of Iowa's substance abuse residential facilities, outpatientand prevention programs may close if the administration cuts this federal aid.
For three years, Grassley has worked with thousands of concerned citizens and the Governor's Alliance on Substance Abuse to bring more Iowans into the effort to fight drug andsubstance abuse. Grassley's statewide Face It Together (FIT) coalition is the nation's first-of-its-kind, grassroots-oriented, anti-drug initiative.