Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 6.djvu/648

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110 STAT. 4470 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS^JUNE 13, 1996 (1) that raising Federal income taxes in 1993 on the Social Security benefits of middle-class individuals with income as low as $34,000 was a mistake; (2) that the Federal income tax hike on Social Security benefits imposed in 1993 by the One Hundred Third Congress and signed into law by President Clinton should be repealed; and (3) President Clinton should work with Congress to repeal the 1993 Federal income tax hike on Social Security benefits in a manner that would not adversely affect the Social Security Trust Fund or the Medicare Part A Trust Fund, and should ensure that such repeal is coupled with offsetting reductions in Federal spending. SEC. 418. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATION'S PRACTICE REGARDING THE PROSECUTION OF DRUG SMUGGLERS. (a) FINDINGS. —Congress finds that— (1) drug use is devastating to the Nation, particularly among juveniles, and has led juveniles to become involved in interstate gangs and to participate in violent crime; (2) drug use has experienced a dramatic resurgence among our youth; (3) the number of youths aged 12-17 using marijuana has increased from 1.6 million in 1992 to 2.9 million in 1994, and the category of "recent marijuana use" increased a staggering 200 percent among 14- to 15-year-olds over the same period; (4) since 1992, there has been a 52 percent jump in the number of high school seniors using drugs on a monthly basis, even as worrisome declines are noted in peer disapproval of drug use; (5) 1 in 3 high school students uses marijuana; (6) 12- to 17-year-olds who use marijuana are 85 percent more likely to graduate to cocaine than those who abstain from marijuana; (7) juveniles who reach 21 without ever having used drugs almost never try them later in life; (8) the latest results from the Drug Abuse Warning Network show that marijuana-related episodes jumped 39 percent and are running at 155 percent above the 1990 level, and that methamphetamine cases have risen 256 percent over the 1991 level; (9) between February 1993 and February 1995 the retail price of a gram of cocaine fell from $172 to $137, and that of a gram of heroin also fell from $2,032 to $1,278; (10) it has been reported that the Department of Justice, through the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, has adopted a policy of allowing certain foreign drug smugglers to avoid prosecution altogether by being released to Mexico; (11) it has been reported that in the past year approximately 2,300 suspected narcotics traffickers were taken into custody for bringing illegal drugs across the border, but approximately one in four were returned to their country of origin without being prosecuted; (12) it has been reported that the United States Customs Service is operating under guidelines limiting any prosecution