Congressman Souder is On the Job

The News-Sentinel is going to be publishing a series of bi-weekly columns from Congressman Mark Souder with the first installment printed today. In this one Souder describes his trip to the Washington-British Columbia border as part of his oversight responsibility on the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism.

Of course for Souder everything comes back to drugs (specifically meth) and this trip was no different. First he tells of the horrors of Ecstasy trafficking along the border and then he visits a needle exchange program in Canada:

I was surprised to hear how rapidly the smuggling of the illegal drug Ecstasy has increased. Originally confined largely to “rave” parties, Ecstasy (also known as MDMA) is gaining in popularity, especially on college campuses. Often it is laced with other drugs – such as meth – to enhance its addictiveness.

While in Vancouver, B.C., I visited a needle exchange program that allows drug addicts to inject themselves with heroin in a government-run facility under the guise of “harm reduction.” This was the third time I’d seen this failing program, and I was reminded why harm reduction is a misnomer.

What do either of these two things have to do with counterterrorism? And why in the world would Souder visit a Vancouver-based needle exchange program 3 times? Is he monitoring progress to see if we can recruit these addicts into an elite anti-terrorism fighting force? Once again Souder explains by telling us how his over-the-top obsession with the "war on drugs" is really saving us money:

Oversight visits, such as this one, are among the most valuable learning tools available to a congressman who takes the time to study the issues. They help ensure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely as we work to strengthen our nation’s homeland security.

Ah yes, truly a wise investment of the taxpayer's money. I feel so much safer already...