Rep. Engel's Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission v. Sen. Webb's Criminal Justice Commission
Over the past month, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) have introduced separate bills in their respective chambers that attempt to address U.S. public security and drug policy. Each bill aims to set up a bi-partisan commission to address failed U.S. policies and provide recommendations for improvement. While Representative Engel's bill (H.R. 2134) "Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act of 2009", focuses entirely on the United States' failed drug policies for both supply and demand, Senator Webb's bill (S. 714) "The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009" aims to address the troubled criminal justice system in the United States, which by default includes drug policy, international gangs and drug cartels. Rep. Engel's bill is more international in focus, looking at the Western Hemisphere as a whole, yet it appears that Webb's bill has more support within the Senate and, although it does not have a sister bill in the House, may have a better chance of being passed first. Both bills attempt to tackle issues that warrant the attention of Congress, yet some analysts feel that the similarities among both bills will make it difficult for both to be passed. Below are summaries of both bills, highlighting the main similarities and differences between them. Representative Engel's bill: The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act of 2009 According to Rep. Engel, the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act of 2009 is "a bill that will create an independent commission to evaluate U.S. policies and programs aimed at reducing illicit drug supply and demand." The purpose of the bill is to "review and evaluate United States illicit drug supply policy, with particular emphasis on international drug policies and programs directed toward the countries of the Western Hemisphere and demand reduction policies and programs. The Commission shall identify policy and program options to improve existing international and domestic counternarcotics policy." The Commission will assess:
- 1. The effectives of U.S. illicit drug control policies, such as interdiction, crop eradication, and alternative development;
- 2. The impact of Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative in curbing drug trafficking and drug-related violence in the region;
- 3. Improved uses of available technology to target major drug cartels; and
- 4. The impact of the U.S. drug certification process in reducing drug production, cultivation and trafficking.
As Rep. Engel introduced the bill in the House, he noted that "Clearly, the time has come to reexamine our counternarcotics efforts here at home and throughout the Americas. My bill will assess all aspects of the drug war--including prevention and treatment programs in the United States." Yet, he continued to specify that this bill is not intended to support the legalization of illegal drugs. Senator Webb's bill: The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 The purpose of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 is to establish a national criminal justice commission, which will, according to Senator Webb, "not to simply talk about the problems that we have in our criminal justice system but actually to look at all of the elements in this system, how they are interrelated in terms of the difficulties that we have in remedying issues of criminal justice in this country, and to deliver us from a situation that has evolved over time where we are putting far too many of the wrong people into prison and we are still not feeling safer in our neighborhoods." The themes similar to Rep. Engel's bill that will be addressed by Webb's National Criminal Justice Commission include:
- 1. The impact of gangs, both national and foreign-based, in the United States;
- 2. The role of the military in the prevention of crime and the maintenance of stability along national borders; and
- 3. Policies intended to decrease the demand for illicit drugs and improve treatment for addiction.
While this is a far more domestic-focused bill than Rep. Engel's, it does involve taking a look at the role drug policy and international gangs have on the criminal justice system. As a result, it could produce a set of similar recommendations as those that would be addressed in Rep. Engel's Western Hemisphere Commission, but most likely will not go into such details as to how to address U.S. counternarcotics policy.