NATIONAL DRUG POLICY BOARD VIEWS LETTER ON S.15, "DRUG CZAR"

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89T00234R000200230020-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 6, 2012
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: April 1, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
FROM:
1 April 1987
OCA 87-1228
Legislation Division STAT
Office of Congressional Affairs
SUBJECT: National Drug Policy Board Views Letter on S. 15, "Drug Czar"
1. During the week of March 23, 1987, I called the Assistant NIO/N in
the absence of the NIO/N himself. I indicated that I had reviewed the
proposed views letter on S. 15 from the Attorney General to Senator Glenn,
Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and had no objection to
it. That letter had been forwarded to the Agency for comment by the National
Drug Enforcement Policy Board prior to transmission to Senator Glenn.
2. Subsequently I was called by the NIO/N himself. He indicated that he
had contacted the Board and had indicated no Agency objection to the letter
(other than the deletion of one minor sentence).
3. He then noted that S. 15 in its current form might present problems
for the Agency and suggested that we might consider seeking an amendment of
the bill to include language proposed by of the Office of General
Counsel in a memorandum on the bill he did recently.
4. I indicated that I had not seen the memorandum. I had reviewed the
bill, however, when it was introduced. While the concept of the "drug czar"
was not favored by the Agency, I had concluded that there was language in the
bill sufficient to protect the Agency's equities: budgetary independence and
ability to protect intelligence sources and methods. I indicated we would
review the matter at the time the bill appeared to be moving.
5. The language in question was the result of intense negotiations with
the bill's proponents at the bill's inception several years ago. It is not
likely that they will wish to reopen the matter at this time. To the
contrary, by reopening the issue it is possible the Agency exemption could be
lost. Further, we would have to be satisfied that the proposed substitute
addressed a real problem heretofore unnoticed, not just a rephrasing of the
existing language. I will, however obtain a co .y of the memorandum and
review it.
Distribution:
,Orig. - OCA/LEG/Subje'ct File: Narcotics
_
1 - D/OCA
1 - DDL/OCA
1 - DD/SA/OCA
1 - DD/HA/OCA
1 - OCA Registry
1 - OCA/LEG Chron
OCA/LEG
(1 Apr 87)
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STAT
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ER 87-1245x
OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
Routing Slip
ACTION
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10 Constituent Inquiries
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SUSPENSE
Date
Action Officer:
Remarks:
26Mar87
Name/Date
STAT
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TO:
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Noon (27 Mar '87)
Date
Remarks
To #9/17. Pis respond directly to Mr. Coy with
information copy for Executive Secretary,
3637 ('"I)
STAT
Executive Secretary
26 Mar '87
Date
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.Ntbellw4, U.S. Department ok-Astice
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87-1245X
National Drug Enforcement Policy Board
Attorney General, Chairman
March 25, 1987
The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Acting Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D. C. 20505
Dear Mr. Gates:
The Chairman of the National Drug Policy Board has asked me
to send you the draft of a letter to Senator John Glenn in
response to his request for the Administration's views regarding
S. 15, "Drug Czar Bill". The Chairman would like to respond to
Senator Glenn's request by sending one letter that represents the
views of the National Drug Policy Board.
He asks that you please review the attached letter and pro-
vide any comments to me no later than cob Friday, March 27, 1987.
Sincerely,
Craig P. Coy
Assistant to the Chairman of
the National Drug Policy Board
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. L.S. Departmerceir Justice
Vational 1)rng Enforcement Policy Board
Attorney General, Chairman
DRAFT
Honorable John Glenn
Chairman
Committee on Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This responds to your request for views of the
Administration regarding S. 15, a bill "To provide the framework
necessary to pursue a coordinated and effective national and
international narcotics control policy". For the reasons set out
below, the departments and agencies represented on the National
Drug Enforcement Policy Board strongly recommend against
enactment of this bill.
Background
This proposal, generally referred to as the "drug czar
bill," has a history which merits review. The forerunner of
S. 15 was, without hearings, included in H.R. 3963 of the 97th
Congress and was disapproved by the President on January 14,
1983. The Memorandum of Disapproval sets out the Adminis-
stration's concerns with such legislation and is enclosed for
ready reference.
The same proposal was resubmitted during the 98th Congress.
In early 1984, then Deputy Attorney General Jensen approached
Senators Biden and Thurmond in an effort to develop a compromise
on the "drug czar" issue. That compromise effort resulted in the
enactment, as Title XIII of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act
of 1984 (P.L. 98-473), of the statute which created the National
Drug Enforcement Policy Board. This new Cabinet-level Board,
which I chair and which was organized in early 1985, was assigned
the mission of coordinating federal drug enforcement policy,
strategy and operations.
Since its creation less than two years ago, the National
Drug Enforcement Policy Board has taken on a number of drug
enforcement coordination issues. Its accomplishments and
activities are described in some detail in the two enclosed
reports which it has issued.
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The President has decided that the Board should be expanded to
coordinate both supply side and demand side programs. On February
3, 1987 I announced that the President will soon issue an
Executive Order to establish the National Drug Policy Board which
will
" facilitate the development and
coordination of national drug policy
and shall coordinate Executive Branch
activities to reduce the supply and use of
illegal drugs, to include international
activities, enforcement, prevention and
education, treatment and rehabilitation,
and research related to illegal drugs."
A copy of the announcement of this centralization is enclosed.
In short, by virtue of enactment of the coinpromise National
Narcotics Act in 1984 and the expansion of the National Drug
Enforcement Policy Board into a National Drug Policy Board which
will address all drug issues, we have substantially embraced and
put into place the coordination structure recommended in S. 15.
Concerns Raised by S. 15
The principal difference between S. 15 and the present
structure is that S. 15 proposes to create a super Cabinet level
officer, the "Director of National Drug Control Policy" (the
"drug czar") with authority to direct the affairs of the various
departments and agencies of the United States. While we
recognize the superficial appeal of this proposal, we believe
that it is ill advised and that it is inconsistent with two
centuries of Cabinet government which has served this nation
well. While it is certainly true that there are a number of
agencies and departments with drug control responsibilities, the
same is true of many issues: social welfare, law enforcement,
economic policy and so forth. Ultimately, it is the President who
must, in our system, resolve disagreements which arise among the
various departments and agencies in areas which cut across
departmental lines. If S. 15 is followed to its logical extreme,
super-Cabinet level officers would be established in all such
areas, perhaps to organize themselves into a "Super Cabinet." As
the President's Commission on Organized Crime noted after
studying the "drug czar" proposal:
"It is neither possible nor desirable under
our system of law to invest a Board Chairman
or any other "Czar" with dictatorial power
to command other Cabinet members to conduct
the affairs of their respective Departments
in a particular fashion."
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The additional layer of bureaucracy inherent in such a
system would, we believe, retard rather than enhance drug control
efforts. The bill calls for the creation of a new office which
would be expensive to maintain and would require significant
staff and other resources which would inevitably be drawn from
current drug control programs. The creation of such a super-
Cabinet-level office would also diminish the responsibility of
and thus the interest and commitment of Cabinet members and
agency heads to solving the complex drug problem. There is no
precedent for such a scheme in any comparable subject matter
area.
S. 15, by giving the "drug czar" the authority to "direct
and coordinate all United States Government [enforcement]
efforts," jeopardizes the integrity of ongoing criminal investi-
gations and prosecutions. It also threatens the autonomy of the
Departments of Justice, Treasury, Transportation and State, a
threat underscored by the overwhelming opposition to this
proposal by the federal law enforcement community as well as such
groups as the International Association of Chiefs of Police and
the National Association of Attorneys General.
In summary, we support the thrust of S. 15 and have sought
to achieve its ends within the traditional framework of govern-
ment. We object vigorously, however, to the proposal in S. 15
that the solution to our drug problems lies in the creation of a
super-Cabinet level officer to serve as a "drug czar," presumably
to work out of the Executive Office of the President. Recent
history does not suggest that pushing aside Cabinet departments
in favor of White House-directed operations is the most
efficacious means of advancing the interests of the United
States.
Conclusion
For the reasons set out above, the Departments and agencies
represented on the National Drug Enforcement Policy Board
strongly recommend against enactment of S. 15. Should the bill
be approved notwithstanding our objections, we would be
constrained to recommend Executive disapproval of the bill.
Sincerely,
Edwin Meese III
Chairman
Enclosures
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