,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dfdj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #i1 #bjad ,mr4  
,engel 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,salmon1 ,mr4 
,sires1 ,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen1 and ,mr4   
,o',rourke7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs  ,a     
,,bill  ,to establish the ,western      
,hemisphere ,drug ,policy ,commission4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,western ,hemisphere ,drug      
,policy ,commission ,act of #bjad4  #b4 
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,according to the ,substance     
,abuse and ,mental ,health ,services    
,administration's 7,,samhsa7 ,national  
,survey on ,drug ,use and ,health1 in   
#bjab in the ,united ,states1 an        
estimated #bc1ijj1jjj persons age #ab or
 older were current drug users4 ,there  
were an estimated #a1fjj1jjj users of   
cocaine1 #ddj1jjj users of              
methamphetamine1 #cce1jjj users of      
heroin1 #ah1ijj1jjj users of marijuana1 

and #f1hjj1jjj non-medical users of     
prescription-type drugs4  7#b7 ,on      
,september #ac1 #bjac1 ,president       
,barack ,obama identified #bb countries 
as major drug transit or major illicit  
drug producing countries4 ,of these1 #ag
 are located in the ,western            
,hemisphere4 ,they are ,the ,bahamas1   
,belize1 ,bolivia1 ,colombia1 ,costa    
,rica1 the ,dominican ,republic1        
,ecuador1 ,el ,salvador1 ,guatemala1    
,haiti1 ,honduras1 ,jamaica1 ,mexico1   
,nicaragua1 ,panama1 ,peru1 and         
,venezuela4  7#c7 ,nearly all cocaine   
consumed in the ,united ,states         
originates in the ,andean countries of  
,bolivia1 ,colombia1 and ,peru and most 
of the heroin consumed in the ,united   
,states originates in ,colombia and     
,mexico4 ,the cultivation1 production   
and trafficking of cocaine and heroin   
generate violence1 instability1 and     
corruption4  7#d7 ,in the transit       
countries of ,central ,america1 ,mexico1
 ,venezuela1 ,ecuador1 the ,dominican   

,republic1 ,haiti1 and other ,caribbean 
countries1 drug trafficking is central  
to the growing strength of organized    
criminals to threaten local and national
 law enforcement1 political             
institutions1 citizen security1 rule of 
law1 and ,united ,states security and   
interests4  7#e7 ,drug                  
trafficking-related violence continues  
unabated in ,mexico4 ,according to      
,government of ,mexico estimates1 some  
#gj1jjj people died in ,mexico and      
#be1jjj people disappeared as a result  
of drug trafficking and organized       
crime-related violence between ,december
 #bjjf and ,december #bjab4 ,according  
to analysts1 more than #aa1ejj more     
people died in ,mexico in #bjac due to  
the violence4  7#f7 ,foreign ,terrorist 
,organizations and their supporters in  
the ,western ,hemisphere1 including the 
,revolutionary ,armed ,forces of        
,colombia 7,,farc7 and ,hezbollah1 have 
used drug trafficking to finance their  
activities4  7#g7 ,the ,united ,states  

obligated roughly #ae1gjj1jjj1jjj       
7#ah1fjj1jjj1jjj in constant #bjab      
dollars7 for counternarcotics programs  
in ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean   
between #aihj and #bjab4  #c4           
,establishment ,there is established an 
independent commission to be known as   
the ,western ,hemisphere ,drug ,policy  
,commission 7in this ,act referred to as
 the ,commission74  #d4 ,duties  7a7    
,review of illicit drug control policies
 ,the ,commission shall conduct a       
comprehensive review of ,united ,states 
foreign policy in the ,western          
,hemisphere to reduce the illicit drug  
supply and drug abuse and reduce the    
damage associated with illicit drug     
markets and trafficking4 ,the           
,commission shall also identify policy  
and program options to improve existing 
international counternarcotics policy4  
,the review shall include the following 
topics3  7#a7 ,an evaluation of ,united 
,states-funded international illicit    
drug control programs in the ,western   

,hemisphere1 including drug             
interdiction1 crop eradication1         
alternative development1 drug production
 surveys1 police and justice sector     
training1 demand reduction1 and         
strategies to target drug kingpins4     
7#b7 ,an evaluation of the impact of    
,united ,states counternarcotics        
assistance programs in the ,western     
,hemisphere1 including the ,colombia    
,strategic ,development ,initiative1 the
 ,merida ,initiative1 the ,caribbean    
,basin ,security ,initiative and the    
,central ,america ,regional ,security   
,initiative1 in curbing drug production1
 drug trafficking1 and drug-related     
violence and improving citizen security4
  7#c7 ,an evaluation of how the        
,president's annual determination of    
major drug-transit and major illicit    
drug producing countries pursuant to    
sections #dij of the ,foreign           
,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4
 #bbia;j7 and section #gjf of the       
,foreign ,relations ,authorization ,act1

 ,fiscal ,year #bjjc 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4     
#bbia;j-#a7 serves ,united ,states      
interests with respect to ,united       
,states international illicit drug      
control policies4  7#d7 ,an evaluation  
of whether the proper indicators of     
success are being used to evaluate      
,united ,states international illicit   
drug control policy4  7#e7 ,an          
evaluation of ,united ,states efforts to
 stop illicit proceeds from drug        
trafficking organizations from entering 
the ,united ,states financial system4   
7#f7 ,an evaluation of alternative drug 
policy models in the ,western           
,hemisphere4  7#g7 ,an evaluation of the
 impact of local drug consumption in    
,latin ,america and the ,caribbean in   
promoting violence and insecurity4  7#h7
 ,recommendations on how best to improve
 ,united ,states counternarcotics       
policies in the ,western ,hemisphere4   
7b7 ,coordination with governments1     
international organizations1 and        
nongovernmental organizations in the    

,western ,hemisphere ,in conducting the 
review required under subsection 7a71   
the ,commission is encouraged to consult
 with--  7#a7 government1 academic1 and 
nongovernmental leaders1 as well as     
leaders from international              
organizations1 from throughout the      
,united ,states1 ,latin ,america1 and   
the ,caribbean2 and  7#b7 the           
,inter-,american ,drug ,abuse ,control  
,commission 7,,cicad74  7c7 ,report     
7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year
 after the first meeting of the         
,commission1 the ,commission shall      
submit to the ,committee on ,foreign    
,affairs of the ,house of               
,representatives1 the ,committee on     
,foreign ,relations of the ,senate1 the 
,secretary of ,state1 and the ,director 
of the ,office of ,national ,drug       
,control ,policy a report that          
contains--  7,a7 a detailed statement of
 the recommendations1 findings1 and     
conclusions of the ,commission under    
subsection 7a72 and  7,b7 summaries of  

the input and recommendations of the    
leaders and organizations with which the
 ,commission consulted under subsection 
7b74  7#b7 ,public availability ,the    
report required under this subsection   
shall be made available to the public4  
#e4 ,membership  7a7 ,number and        
appointment ,the ,commission shall be   
composed of ten members to be appointed 
as follows3  7#a7 ,the majority leader  
and minority leader of the ,senate shall
 each appoint #b members4  7#b7 ,the    
,speaker and the minority leader of the 
,house of ,representatives shall each   
appoint #b members4  7#c7 ,the          
,president shall appoint #b members4    
7b7 ,prohibition  7#a7 ,in general ,the 
,commission may not include ,members of 
,congress or ,federal1 ,state1 or local 
government officials4  7#b7 ,member of  
,congress ,in this subsection1 the term 
,member of ,congress includes a         
,delegate or ,resident ,commissioner to 
the ,congress4  7c7 ,period of          
appointment ,each member shall be       

appointed for the life of the           
,commission4 ,any vacancies shall not   
affect the power and duties of the      
,commission1 but shall be filled in the 
same manner as the original appointment4
  7d7 ,date ,members of the ,commission 
shall be appointed not later than #cj   
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act4  7e7 ,initial meeting and    
selection of chairperson  7#a7 ,in      
general ,not later than #fj days after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,commission shall hold an initial   
meeting to develop and implement a      
schedule for completion of the review   
and report required under section #d4   
7#b7 ,chairperson ,at the initial       
meeting1 the ,commission shall select a 
,chairperson from among its members4    
7f7 ,quorum ,six members of the         
,commission shall constitute a quorum4  
7g7 ,travel expenses ,members shall     
receive travel expenses1 including per  
diem in lieu of subsistence1 in         
accordance with sections #egjb and #egjc

 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1    
while away from their homes or regular  
places of business in performance of    
services for the ,commission4  #f4      
,powers  7a7 ,meetings ,the ,commission 
shall meet at the call of the           
,chairperson or a majority of its       
members4  7b7 ,hearings ,the ,commission
 shall hold such hearings and undertake 
such other activities as the ,commission
 determines necessary to carry out its  
duties4  7c7 ,other resources  7#a7     
,documents1 statistical data1 and other 
such information  7,a7 ,in general ,the 
,commission shall have reasonable access
 to documents1 statistical data1 and    
other such information the ,commission  
determines necessary to carry out its   
duties from the ,library of ,congress1  
the ,office of ,national ,drug ,control 
,policy1 the ,department of ,state1 and 
other agencies of the executive and     
legislative branches of the ,federal    
,government4  7,b7 ,obtaining           
information ,the ,chairperson of the    

,commission shall request the head of an
 agency described in subparagraph 7,a7  
for access to documents1 statistical    
data1 or other such information         
described in subparagraph 7,a7 that is  
under the control of such agency in     
writing when necessary4  7#b7 ,office   
space and administrative support ,the   
,general ,services ,administration shall
 make office space available for        
day-to-day activities of the ,commission
 and for scheduled meetings of the      
,commission4 ,upon request1 the         
,administrator of ,general ,services    
shall provide1 on a reimbursable basis1 
such administrative support as the      
,commission requests to fulfill its     
duties4  7d7 ,authority ,to use ,united 
,states mails ,the ,commission may use  
the ,united ,states mails in the same   
manner and under the same conditions as 
other departments and agencies of the   
,united ,states4  7e7 ,authority ,to    
contract  7#a7 ,in general ,subject to  
the ,federal ,property and              

,administrative ,services ,act of #aidi1
 the ,commission is authorized to enter 
into contracts with ,federal and ,state 
agencies1 private firms1 institutions1  
and individuals for the conduct of      
activities necessary to the discharge of
 its duties under section #d4  7#b7     
,termination ,a contract1 lease1 or     
other legal agreement entered into by   
the ,commission may not extend beyond   
the date of termination of the          
,commission4  #g4 ,staff  7a7 ,director 
,the ,commission shall have a ,director 
who shall be appointed by a majority    
vote of the ,commission4 ,the ,director 
shall be paid at a rate not to exceed   
the rate of basic pay for level ,,iv of 
the ,executive ,schedule4  7b7 ,staff   
7#a7 ,in general ,with the approval of  
the ,commission1 the ,director may      
appoint such personnel as the ,director 
determines to be appropriate4 ,such     
personnel shall be paid at a rate not to
 exceed the rate of basic pay for level 
,,iv of the ,executive ,schedule4  7#b7 

,additional staff ,the ,commission may  
appoint and fix the compensation of such
 other personnel as may be necessary to 
enable the ,commission to carry out its 
duties1 without regard to the provisions
 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1    
governing appointments in the           
competitive service1 and without regard 
to the provisions of chapter #ea and    
subchapter ,,iii of chapter #ec of such 
title relating to classification and    
,general ,schedule pay rates1 except    
that no rate of pay fixed under this    
subsection may exceed the equivalent of 
that payable to a person occupying a    
position at level ,v of the ,executive  
,schedule4  7c7 ,experts and consultants
 ,with the approval of the ,commission1 
the ,director may procure temporary and 
intermittent services under section     
#caji7;b7 of title #e1 ,united ,states  
,code4  7d7 ,detail of government       
employees ,upon the request of the      
,commission1 the head of any ,federal   
agency may detail1 without              

reimbursement1 any of the personnel of  
such agency to the ,commission to assist
 in carrying out the duties of the      
,commission4 ,any such detail shall not 
interrupt or otherwise affect the civil 
service status or privileges of the     
personnel4  #h4 ,authorization of       
appropriations  7a7 ,in general ,there  
is authorized to be appropriated        
#b1jjj1jjj to carry out this ,act4  7b7 
,availability ,amounts authorized to be 
appropriated under subsection 7a7 are   
authorized to remain available until    
expended4  #i4 ,offset ,section #ajb7;a7
 of the ,enhanced ,partnership with     
,pakistan ,act of #bjji 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4  
#hdab7;a72 ,public ,law #aaa-gc2 #abc   
,stat4 #bjfh7 is amended by striking    
#a1ejj1jjj1jjj and inserting            
#a1dih1jjj1jjj4  #aj4 ,sunset ,the      
,commission shall terminate on the date 
that is #fj days after the date on which
 the ,commission submits its to         
,congress of its report pursuant to     
section #d7;c74