War on Drugs: Reauthorization of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

Publication Date: June 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Social conditions

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Abstract:

Authorization of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) expired on September 30, 2003. Located in the Executive Office of the President, the ONDCP Director, often referred to as the "drug czar," is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the federal war on drugs and directly runs certain drug control programs such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, and the Counter-Drug Technology Assessment Center. The office was created in 1988 and reauthorized twice since then.

A bill has been introduced in the House (H.R. 2565) that would extend ONDCP by repealing the sunset provision of the agency's 1998 reauthorization act and authorize appropriations through 2010. The main purpose of the bill, however, is to impose drug-testing regulations on professional sports leagues.

More extensive ONDCP reauthorization bills are reportedly being drafted by the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. These bills will likely resemble the reauthorization bills introduced in the 108th Congress, H.R. 2086 and S. 1860. This report's comparison and analysis of the provisions of these bills from the 108th Congress are therefore of continuing relevance to the 109th Congress as it prepares to consider reauthorization of the office of the drug czar.

This report will be updated as legislative activity occurs.