Washington Roundup

  September 7, 2001

Contact: Jenny Collier

Legal Action Center

202-544-5478

                                                               

President Bush to Nominate Dr. Andrea Barthwell to Serve as Deputy Director of Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy:

Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Prevention Field Pleased

This week President Bush announced his intention to nominate Dr. Andrea Barthwell to serve as the Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.  Dr. Barthwell is presently the Executive Vice President of the Human Resources Development Group, the President of the Encounter Medical Group, and the President and CEO of BRASS Foundation, an addiction treatment Center in Chicago, Illinois.  Additionally, Dr. Barthwell serves as the President of the Board of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and sits on the boards of several alcohol and drug treatment and prevention organizations, including the American Methadone Treatment Association and Legal Action Center.

Dr. Barthwell’s nomination already has received significant support from the alcohol and drug treatment and prevention field.  Many field leaders expressed their excitement about the fact that the Administration has selected such an exceptional professional from the addiction treatment and prevention field to hold this key position in the Office of National Drug Control Policy.  Several individuals praised Dr. Barthwell’s combination of clinical and policy expertise, citing that these qualifications will make her invaluable in Washington.  Additionally, many field leaders applauded President Bush and John Walters, the nominee for Drug Czar, for Dr. Barthwell’s nomination, and viewed it as a positive statement about the Bush Administration’s commitment to working on drug and alcohol treatment and prevention issues.   

The position of Deputy Director for Demand Reduction requires Senate confirmation.  It is unclear at this time when the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on Dr. Barthwell’s nomination.  John Walters, whom President Bush nominated in early May to serve as the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing next Tuesday.


Administration, Congress, and the Community Kick Off Recovery Month

This week several events took place in Washington to kick off observance of the 12th annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, held every September to applaud the courage of people in recovery and recognize the progress made in drug and alcohol treatment.  The theme for this September’s observance is, “We recover together: family, friends, and communities.”

The first event was hosted by Dr. Westley Clark, Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, and Dr. Joseph Autry, Acting Director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  Together, they hosted a breakfast for alcohol and drug treatment and prevention field organizations at the Department of Health and Human Services.  Guest speaker at the breakfast was Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, who discussed his support for drug treatment and prevention services and fielded questions and suggestions from the audience.  Issues raised during the breakfast included the need for additional public funding and insurance parity and the need to look more carefully at issues related to addiction, including child welfare and infectious diseases.  Also attending the breakfast was Charles Curie, President Bush’s nominee for Administrator of SAMHSA.  Mr. Curie presently works at SAMHSA as an expert consultant.

Immediately after the breakfast, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration jointly released a study stating that residential drug and alcohol treatment helps to substantially decrease the alcohol and drug use and criminal behavior of addicted women.  The study, “1993-2000 Residential Treatment Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Women” evaluated drug and alcohol treatment programs designed for pregnant women or women with infants or children.  The study also found that the rates of premature delivery, low birth weight, and infant mortality were improved for women who participated in long-term residential drug and alcohol treatment while pregnant – the rates for these problems were lower for infants born to mothers in residential drug treatment than they were for U.S. pregnancy and birth outcomes generally.  The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment funded the programs evaluated by this study.  

Capping off this week’s Recovery Month kick off activities was a Congressional luncheon hosted by Al-Anon, in conjunction with Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) and Congressman Jim Ramstad (R-MN).  During the luncheon, Senator Wellstone and Congressman Ramstad urged the drug and alcohol treatment and prevention field to increase its advocacy for substance abuse parity legislation sponsored by the Senator and Congressman (S. 595 and H.R. 1194, respectively).  While full passage of substance abuse parity is not likely this session, additional grassroots support would help gain more parity legislation co-sponsors and create possible opportunities for bill passage next session.