"The agency is stretched thin," said Grassley. "Powerful drug cartels are masterminding ways to manipulate legitimate commercial flow. In some corridors, they're using it as their own drug smuggling fleet."
Grassley and Sen. Bob Graham of Florida discussed their proposal during consideration of authorizing legislation for the U.S. Customs Service in the Senate Finance Committee. The Grassley/Graham proposal seeks to help the U.S. Customs Service handle expanding global commercial activity that means more cargo is being carried into the country by air, water, road, and rail systems. It would increase the agency's manpower by almost 2,000 and upgrade its narcotics tracking technology and equipment.
"Whether by air, by land, or by sea, the federal government has a responsibility to keep illegal drugs from ever entering the country," said Grassley. "At the same time, we must keep the commercial friendly welcome mat out for American farmers, suppliers, manufacturers, importers, and shippers to do business with our global trading partners. The U.S. Customs Service has to finesse this balancing act and still handle the growing volume of passenger and freight traffic that crosses our borders every day."
Specifically, Grassley's proposal would authorize approximately $2.2 billion each year in fiscal years 2000 and 2001; more than half would support Customs Law Enforcement and Non- Commercial Operations. It would provide enhanced resources for personnel, technology and equipment and direct spending towards increased counterdrug efforts.
As chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus, Grassley has pushed for an expanded anti-drug enforcement strategy and the development of a comprehensive "Southern Tier" zone to concentrate interdiction efforts throughout the southern portions of the Western Hemisphere.
"I'm concerned that current policy is stumbling from a finger-in-the-dyke strategy," said Grassley. "Instead of working to wipe out drug smuggling organizations, it's merely displacing them. While we're shutting and locking the front door, they're getting in through an upstairs window. These additional resources will help the U.S. Customs Service to do a better job. They'll help boost its capacity to police drug smuggling and still advance a free market economy."
Last week, Grassley launched the nation's first-of-its-kind, statewide anti-drug community coalition in Iowa. A product of two years' work, the grassroots plan for action focuses on community solutions to prevent drug and substance abuse. Grassley called upon all sectors of community life in Iowa to help develop the blueprint for the anti-drug coalition, called Face It Together (FIT). On a national level, Grassley said the federal government "can't solve the drug problem by itself, but it must do what it can and that includes working to cut-off the supply chain and stop drugs from entering the country in the first place."
From his leadership positions as chairman of the Senate Narcotics Control Caucus and chairman of the International Trade subcommittee, Grassley works to advance policies that crack down on illegal drug trafficking and create a friendly environment for expanded world trade opportunities.