Washington Roundup

February 28, 2003

Contact: Jenny Collier and Alexa Eggleston

Legal Action Center

202-544-5478

House Committee on Government Reform Holds First Congressional Hearing on President Bush's Drug Treatment Voucher Initiative:
Administration Officials and Maryland Treatment Provider Testify

This week, the House of Representative's Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources held the first Congressional hearing on the Administration's drug treatment voucher initiative. The hearing featured four witnesses: John Walters, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); Dr. Andrea Barthwell, Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at ONDCP; Charles Curie, Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); and Dr. Jude Boyer-Patrick, Addiction, Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist at Brooklane Health Services in Hagerstown, Maryland and member of the Maryland Governor's Drug and Alcohol Council. The witnesses provided oral and written statements to the Subcommittee as well as answered a significant number of questions about the drug treatment voucher initiative.

Several members of the Subcommittee attended the hearing to hear testimony and to ask questions. Chairman Mark Souder (R-IN) convened the hearing, along with Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD). Both Congressmen expressed their support for the initiative, with Chairman Souder emphasizing the need to ensure that small community- and faith-based providers have access to the program. Additionally, full Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) attended the hearing, expressing his support for the initiative and his personal interest in addiction issues, along with Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL), a long-time supporter of drug and alcohol treatment, especially for individuals who are incarcerated or re-entering the community from incarceration. Several other members of the Subcommittee, both Republicans and Democrats, also attended.

Director Walters, Deputy Director Barthwell, and Administrator Curie advocated for the voucher initiative as a way to:

$ Increase treatment capacity by investing an additional $200 million per year for three years to expand access to treatment.

$ Increase client choice by expanding the types of providers who can provide drug and alcohol treatment services, including faith-based providers.

$ Reward performance by paying providers who produce successful client outcomes, including abstinence from alcohol and drugs.


The Administration witnesses also stated that many details of the voucher initiative will be developed during the next few weeks as SAMHSA writes the Request for Applications (RFA) that it will be sending out to States. States will be invited to apply for voucher grant funding through their Governor's offices. It is unclear at this time how many States will be awarded voucher grants.

The fourth witness, Dr. Jude Boyer-Patrick, Addiction, Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist at Brooklane Health Services stated her support for the initiative, while recommending several safeguards that would improve it, including:

$ Ensuring that the voucher program supports evidence-based practice.
$ Holding faith-based programs accountable to the same standards of care, performance and licensure or certification as all other licensed or certified treatment programs.
$ Protecting States, local governments, and drug and alcohol treatment providers against unfunded costs of the voucher program.
$ Ensuring that providers receive payment for the treatment they provide.
$ Protecting a patient's right to notice that he may choose a secular treatment program if he has been referred to a faith-based provider that does not meet his needs.
$ Prohibiting diversion of Substance Abuse Block Grant funding to the voucher program.
$ Ensuring that new funding expands drug and alcohol treatment in as many states as possible, preferably all 50 states.

There will be other Congressional hearings addressing the drug treatment voucher initiative this session. It is expected that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education will be holding a hearing in late March on SAMHSA's budget that would include testimony and questions about the voucher initiative. The House Government Reform Committee also will revisit the initiative again in the context of a larger hearing that will address the issue of faith-based programming.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) Introduces Legislation to Repeal Law
Barring Financial Aid to Students with Drug Convictions

Congressman Frank (D-MA) has introduced H.R.685, a bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the provisions that prohibit students with drug convictions from receiving financial aid. The bill was introduced with 40 cosponsors including: Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Education and Workforce Committee; and House Education and Workforce Committee members Rep. Major Owens (D-NY), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) and Rep. John Tierney (D-MA). The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Under the current law, which took effect in 2000, students convicted of drug possession are denied eligibility for one year from the time of conviction for a first offense, two years for a second offense, and permanently if there is a third offense. Students convicted of selling drugs lose eligibility for two years, and permanently if there is a second conviction. Students are able to regain their eligibility if they successfully complete a drug rehabilitation program. According to the Department of Education, more than 29,000 people were prevented from getting financial aid in 2002. Several diverse grassroots organizations are supporting the bill, including the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the NAACP, the United Methodist Church, the Legal Action Center and the Coalition for Higher Education.