mr. chairman , methamphetamine abuse has become the nation 's leading drug problem , according to a survey of 500 sheriff 's departments in 45 states . 
meth is cheap to buy , it is easy to make , it is available everywhere , it is highly addictive , and often causes addiction after just one use . 
it is sweeping across the nation replacing cocaine and heroin as the drug of choice for so many people . 
this is where we were in 1990 in terms of drug labs , and this is where we are currently in this country in 2004 , where at least 20 or more clandestine drug labs have been shown in those counties . 
but , of course , those small drug labs are not the main problem , it is mostly drugs coming out of mexico through the superlabs , which have been replacing cocaine and heroin . 
this drug has led to an increase in crime , child abuse , and prison and jail populations are soaring . 
sixty to 85 percent of the meth used in this country comes from the superlabs in mexico . 
pseudoephedrine or ephedrine is the one ingredient necessary for the manufacture of meth . 
it is manufactured , as said earlier , in six or seven locations around the world . 
the kennedy-hooley-osborne-souder amendment attempts to keep pseudoephedrine from meth manufacturers . 
it identifies and publicizes the five export countries and the five import countries which have the highest rate of diversion of pseudoephedrine to manufacturers of methamphetamine . 
the department of state could then use its existing authority to reduce or eliminate u.s. foreign aid to those countries which are most contributing to the meth problem . 
it is a good amendment . 
it gets to the source of the problem , and i urge support of the amendment because this is something that is critical to the welfare of our nation . 
