106th Congress:

New legislative bills

In the House of Representatives:

H.R. 370 - No Frills Prison Act: A bill to amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to prevent luxurious conditions in prisons.

H.R. 979 - Public Safety Act: A bill to ensure that services related to the operation of a correctional facility and the incarceration of inmates are not provided by private contractors or vendors and that persons convicted of any offenses against the United States shall be housed in facilities managed and maintained by Federal employees.

H.R. 988 - Comprehensive Methamphetamine Abuse Reduction Act: A bill to provide for a comprehensive, coordinated effort to combat methamphetamine abuse, and for other purposes.

H.R. 1443 - Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act of 1999: A bill to provide for the collection of data on traffic stops.

H.R. 1501 - Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 1999: A bill to provide grants to ensure increased accountability for juvenile offenders.

H.R. 1856 - Tough on Drugs Act of 1999: A bill to direct the Attorney General to establish a panel to study the issue of Federal benefits received by persons convicted of drug offenses.

H.R. 1889 - A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to impose stiffer penalties on persons convicted of lesser drug offenses.

H.R. 1918 - Criminal Welfare Prevention Act, Part II: A bill to provide for implementation of prohibitions against payment of Social Security benefits to prisoners, and for other purposes.

H.R. 2130 - Hillory T. Farias Date-Rape Prevention Drug Act of 1999: A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to add gamma hydroxybutyric acid and ketamine to the schedules of control substances, to provide for a national awareness campaign, and for other purposes.

H.R. 2551 - Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 1999: A bill to require Federal Prison Industries to compete of its Federal contracts to minimize unfair competition with private firms.

H.R. 2558 - Prison Industries Reform Act of 1999: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to reform Federal Prison Industries, and for other purposes.

In the Senate:

S. 33 - A bill to amend title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to exclude prisoners from the requirements of that title and section.

S. 486 - Determined and Full Engagement Against the Threat of Methamphetamine; DEFEAT Meth Act of 1999: A bill to provide for the punishment of methamphetamine laboratory operators, provide additional resources to combat methamphetamine production, trafficking, and abuse in the United States, and for other purposes.

S. 562 - Comprehensive Methamphetamine Abuse Reduction Act: A bill to provide for a comprehensive, coordinated effort to combat methamphetamine abuse, and for other purposes.

S. 565 - A bill to provide for the treatment of the actions of certain foreign narcotics traffickers as an unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States for purposes of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

S. 821 - Traffic Stop Statistics Study Act of 1999: A bill to provide for the collection of data on traffic stops.

S. 855 - Professional Standards for Government Attorneys Act of 1999: A bill to clarify the applicable standards of professional conduct for attorneys for the Government, and other purposes.

S. 885 - New Medications to Treat Addiction Act of 1999: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide incentives for the development of drugs for the treatment of addiction to illegal drugs, and for other purposes.

S. 993 - Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1999: A bill to prevent juvenile crime, provide for certain punishment of juvenile delinquents, and incapacitate violent juvenile criminals, and for other purposes.

S. 1171 - A bill to block assets of narcotics traffickers who pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

S. 1390 - Drug-Free Families Act of 1999: A bill to help parents and families reduce drug abuse and drug addiction among adolescents, and for other purposes.

S. 1428 - Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 1999: A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act relating to the manufacture, traffick, import, and export of amphetamine and methamphetamine, and for other purposes.

Meth bill a danger to free speech

Arch-conservative Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), head of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, has teamed with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to introduce S. 1428, The Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 1999. While most of the bill contains the standard drug warrior threats (longer prison sentences, increased law enforcement, more funding, etc.), it also contains language that should make anyone concerned with free speech take pause. The bill would make it a federal crime to even discuss anything to do with illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia on the Internet, punishable by up to three years in prison. Any information "to teach or demonstrate the manufacture of a controlled substance, or to distribute by any means information pertaining to, in whole or in part, the manufacture or use of a controlled substance" could bring 10 years in prison.

As if that's not scary enough, the phrase "directly or indirectly advertise for sale or use. . .", taken directly from the bill text, would mean that even a website that links to a website that links to a website that discusses illegal drugs could be held criminally liable. The government has long known that the Internet has been used to great advantage by the drug policy reform movement, and this is a clear attempt at shutting down legitimate voices of dissent.