The House Government Reform Committee has approved HR-2829,
the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization
Act, maintaining that office as the lead agency combating
illegal drugs and administering programs such as the “high
intensity drug trafficking areas” program, the
“counter-drug technology assessment center” and the
“national youth anti-drug media campaign,” in charge of
anti-drug advertising.
The latter has been near the center of a question
regarding whether government-produced video news releases
that don’t mention who made them constitute “illegal
propaganda,” and are off-limits for federal funding, as
the Government Accountability Office found that they are.
The committee accepted three amendments in approving the
bill from Democratic members, which would require
disclosure on any advertisement paid for by the ONDCP,
require the director to consult with the National
Academies of Science about the effect of needle-exchange
programs, and require study of the environmental
effects of dusting drug crops.
The House passed similar legislation last year but the
Senate did not act and this bill still has to wind its
way through several committees before reaching the floor.
