111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2134 

AN ACT 

To establish the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy 

Commission. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Western Hemisphere 

3 Drug Policy Commission Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) According to the Substance Abuse and Men7 tal Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) 

8 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2008 

9 in the United States, there were an estimated 

10 25,768,000 users of marijuana, 5,255,000 users of 

11 cocaine, 850,000 users of methamphetamine, and 

12 453,000 users of heroin. 

13 (2) Nearly 100 percent of the United States co14 caine supply originates in the Andean countries of 

15 Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru and over 90 percent of 

16 the United States heroin supply originates in Colom17 bia and Mexico. 

18 (3) In those countries, the cultivation, produc19 tion and trafficking of cocaine and heroin generate 

20 violence, instability and corruption. 

21 (4) In the transit countries of Central America, 

22 Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti, and other Carib23 bean countries, drug trafficking is central to the 

24 growing strength of organized criminals to threaten 

25 local and national law enforcement, political institu-
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1 tions, citizen security, rule of law, and United States 

2 security and interests. 

3 (5) Drug-related violence is on the rise in Mex4 ico and along the United States-Mexico border. 

5 5,661 people died in Mexico in 2008 alone as a re6 sult of drug-related violence. This is more than dou7 ble the 2007 total of 2,773. 

8 (6) According to the Department of State’s 

9 June 2009 Trafficking in Persons report, organized 

10 criminal networks in Mexico also ‘‘traffic Mexican 

11 women and girls into the United States for commer12 cial sexual exploitation’’. 

13 (7) Extremist groups and their supporters in 

14 the Western Hemisphere, including the Revolu15 tionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and 

16 Hezbollah, often use drug trafficking to finance ter17 rorist activities. 

18 (8) From 1980–2008, United States counter19 narcotics assistance from the State and Defense De20 partments to Latin America and the Caribbean to21 taled about $11,300,000,000. 
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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG 

2 POLICY COMMISSION. 

3 There is established an independent commission to be 

4 known as the ‘‘Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commis5 sion’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

6 SEC. 4. PURPOSE. 

7 The Commission shall review and evaluate United 

8 States policy regarding illicit drug supply reduction and 

9 interdiction, with particular emphasis on international 

10 drug policies and programs directed toward the countries 

11 of the Western Hemisphere, along with foreign and do12 mestic demand reduction policies and programs. The Com13 mission shall identify policy and program options to im14 prove existing international and domestic counternarcotics 

15 policy. 

16 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

17 (a) REVIEW OF ILLICIT DRUG SUPPLY REDUCTION

18 AND DEMAND REDUCTION POLICIES.—The Commission 

19 shall conduct a comprehensive review of United States pol20 icy regarding illicit drug supply reduction, interdiction, 

21 and demand reduction policies and shall, at a minimum, 

22 address the following topics: 

23 (1) An assessment of United States inter24 national illicit drug control policies in the Western 

25 Hemisphere. 
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1 (2) An assessment of drug interdiction efforts, 

2 crop eradication programs, and the promotion of 

3 economic development alternatives to illicit drugs. 

4 (3) The impact of the Andean Counterdrug Ini5 tiative (ACI), the Merida Initiative, the Caribbean 

6 Basin Security Initiative, and other programs in 

7 curbing drug production, drug trafficking, and drug8 related violence in the Western Hemisphere. 

9 (4) An assessment of how to better deploy and 

10 employ available technology to target major drug 

11 cartels. 

12 (5) An assessment of efforts to curb the traf13 ficking of chemical precursors for illicit drugs. 

14 (6) An assessment of how the United States 

15 drug certification process serves United States inter16 ests with respect to United States international il17 licit drug control policies. 

18 (7) An assessment of the nature and extent of 

19 the United States population’s demand for illicit 

20 drugs. 

21 (8) An assessment of United States drug pre22 vention and treatment programs, including anti-drug 

23 coalitions, drug courts, and programs aimed at pre24 venting recidivism. 
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1 (9) An assessment of the extent to which the 

2 consumption of illicit drugs in the United States is 

3 driven by individuals addicted to or abusive of illicit 

4 drugs, and the most effective experiences in the 

5 United States and throughout the world in treating 

6 those individuals and reducing the damage to them7 selves and to society. 

8 (10) Recommendations on how best to improve 

9 United States policies aimed at reducing the supply 

10 of and demand for illicit drugs. 

11 (11) Assessing the value of supporting relevant 

12 government entities and nongovernmental institu13 tions in other countries of the Western Hemisphere 

14 in promoting the reduction of supply of and demand 

15 for illicit drugs. 

16 (12) An assessment of whether the proper indi17 cators of success are being used in United States il18 licit drug control policy. 

19 (b) COORDINATION WITH GOVERNMENTS, INTER20 NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND NONGOVERNMENTAL

21 ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) IN THE WESTERN HEMI22 SPHERE.—In conducting the review required under sub23 section (a), the Commission shall consult with— 

24 (1) government, academic, and nongovern25 mental leaders, as well as leaders from international 
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1 organizations, from throughout the United States, 

2 Latin America, and the Caribbean; and 

3 (2) the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control 

4 Commission (CICAD) to examine what changes 

5 would increase its effectiveness. 

6 (c) REPORT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 

8 after the first meeting of the Commission, the Com9 mission shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 

10 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the 

12 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep13 resentatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

14 the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Com15 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of 

17 the Senate, the Committee on Armed Services of the 

18 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

19 Armed Services of the Senate, the Secretary of 

20 State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

21 Health and Human Services, the Attorney General, 

22 and the Director of the Office of National Drug 

23 Control Policy (ONDCP) a report that contains a 

24 detailed statement of the recommendations, findings, 

25 and conclusions of the Commission, including sum-
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1 maries of the input and recommendations of the 

2 leaders and organizations with which is consulted 

3 under subsection (b). 

4 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report re5 quired under this subsection shall be made available 

6 to the public. 

7 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP. 

8 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

9 shall be composed of ten members, to be appointed as fol10 lows: 

11 (1) The majority leader and minority leader of 

12 the Senate shall each appoint two members. 

13 (2) The Speaker and the minority leader of the 

14 House of Representatives shall each appoint two 

15 members. 

16 (3) The President shall appoint two members. 

17 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—The Commission may not in18 clude Members of Congress or other currently elected Fed19 eral, State, or local government officials. 

20 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Each member shall 

21 be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any vacancies 

22 shall not affect the power and duties of the Commission, 

23 but shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap24 pointment. 
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1 (d) DATE.—Members of the Commission shall be ap2 pointed not later than 30 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 (e) INITIAL MEETING AND SELECTION OF CHAIR5 PERSON.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act, the Commission shall hold an initial 

7 meeting to develop and implement a schedule for comple8 tion of the review and report required under section 5. 

9 At the initial meeting, the Commission shall select a 

10 Chairperson from among its members. 

11 (f) QUORUM.—Six members of the Commission shall 

12 constitute a quorum. 

13 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive trav14 el expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 

15 accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 

16 States Code, while away from their homes or regular 

17 places of business in performance of services for the Com18 mission. 

19 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

20 (a) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

21 call of the Chairperson or a majority of its members. 

22 (b) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 

23 hearings and undertake such other activities as the Com24 mission determines necessary to carry out its duties. 
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1 (c) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission shall have 

2 reasonable access to documents, statistical data, and other 

3 such information the Commission determines necessary to 

4 carry out its duties from the Library of Congress, the Of5 fice of National Drug Control Policy, the Department of 

6 State, the Department of Health and Human Services, the 

7 Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Adminis8 tration, the Department of Defense (including the United 

9 States Southern Command), and other agencies of the ex10 ecutive and legislative branches of the Federal Govern11 ment. The Chairperson of the Commission shall make re12 quests for such access in writing when necessary. The 

13 General Services Administration (GSA) shall make office 

14 space available for day-to-day Commission activities and 

15 for scheduled Commission meetings. Upon request, the 

16 Administrator of General Services shall provide, on a re17 imbursable basis, such administrative support as the Com18 mission requests to fulfill its duties. 

19 (d) AUTHORITY TO USE THE UNITED STATES

20 MAILS.—The Commission may use the United States 

21 mails in the same manner and under the same conditions 

22 as other departments and agencies of the United States. 

23 (e) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.—Subject to the Fed24 eral Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, 

25 the Commission is authorized to enter into contracts with 
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1 Federal and State agencies, private firms, institutions, 

2 and individuals for the conduct of activities necessary to 

3 the discharge of its duties and responsibilities. A contract, 

4 lease, or other legal agreement entered into by the Com5 mission may not extend beyond the date of termination 

6 of the Commission. 

7 SEC. 8. STAFF. 

8 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall 

9 have a staff headed by an Executive Director. The Execu10 tive Director and such staff as is needed shall be paid at 

11 a rate not more than the rate of pay for level IV of the 

12 Executive Schedule. 

13 (b) STAFF APPOINTMENT.—With the approval of the 

14 Commission, the Executive Director may appoint such 

15 personnel as the Executive Director determines to be ap16 propriate. The Commission may appoint and fix the com17 pensation of such other personnel as may be necessary to 

18 enable the Commission to carry out its duties, without re19 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov20 erning appointments in the competitive service, and with21 out regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

22 III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and 

23 General Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of pay 

24 fixed under this subsection may exceed the equivalent of 
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1 that payable to a person occupying a position at level V 

2 of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 

3 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap4 proval of the Commission, the Executive Director may 

5 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 

6 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

8 the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal 

9 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per10 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car11 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 

12 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta13 tus or privileges of the personnel. 

14 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro16 priated $2,000,000 to carry out this Act. 

17 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

18 to subsection (a) shall remain available, without fiscal year 

19 limitation, until expended. 
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1 SEC. 10. SUNSET. 

2 The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission 

3 shall terminate 60 days after the submission to Congress 

4 of its report under section 5(c). 

Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 

2009. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2134 

AN ACT 

To establish the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy 

Commission.