Date: 2010-07-27
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4748. the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act requires the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. ONDCP. to develop a counternarcotics strategy for the U.S. Canadian border. Given the escalating drug violence in Mexico. many may think that illegal drug trafficking only occurs across our southwestern border. And while the lions share of cocaine and heroin is smuggled into America from Mexico. the U.S. Canadian border is a major transit point for highpotency marijuana. ecstasy and other illegal drugs. This is not something new. Several years ago. when I was chairman of a subcommittee on the Committee on Homeland Security. we held a hearing in our northwestern area. that is. on our U.S. Canadian border on the west side of the country. and at that time it was pointed out to us the major trafficking in what was known as "BC Bud." a highgrade marijuana coming out of British Columbia. also large amounts of money from the United States crossing over into Canada. and a serious number of weapons transiting across our common border. Its gotten even worse since then. According to the 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment. the Asian drug trafficking organizations are responsible for the resurgence of ecstasy in the U.S. since 2005. And these organizations produce the drug in Canada and then smuggle it across our northern border. The U.S./Canadian border is remote. heavily wooded. and sparsely populated. ideal for smugglers seeking to move their product into the U.S. without being detected. These conditions have led to some creative. even brazen. trafficking methods. For instance. in Operation Frozen Timber. led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2006. six smugglers were caught transporting marijuana and cocaine across the border using helicopters. One smuggler touted the operation as being even better than FedEx because "they delivered anywhere in Washington State." Operation Iron Curtain. led by the Drug Enforcement Administration. resulted in charges against 45 suspects involved in trafficking approximately $250 million worth of highgrade hydroponic marijuana into the U.S. annually. Americas Indian reservations along the Canadian border are also exploited by drug smugglers. Roughly 20 percent of the highpotency marijuana grown in Canada is smuggled across the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in upstate New York. In 2006. Congress directed the ONDCP to prepare a counternarcotics strategy for our southwestern border. H.R. 4748 mirrors this requirement to produce a strategy for the northern border. The bill requires coordination with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. as well as other relevant Federal agencies. This legislation will help ensure a cohesive approach to combating drug smuggling across our border with Canada. While we continue to address drug trafficking across our southwestern border. we cannot and must not lose sight of the ease by which our northern border can be exploited by dangerous drug smugglers. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.