budget cuts have forced a one-third reduction in residential and outpatient treatment capacity here in Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, users seeking treatment can be forced to wait for months for admission to county-supported clinics. Users unable to break the addiction without assistance continue to abuse drugs and to commit the crimes necessary to support their habits.

For some abusers, the way is too long and they die before receiving the treatment that they have needed.

I am pleased, Mr. Chairman, that in this last session, through your leadership, Congress took the historic step of passing the first comprehensive legislation to move toward combatting the scourge of illicit drug use infesting our nation.

A national policy on drug abuse is only only a first step. We cannot afford to relax our efforts now and I am pleased that so many members of the Los Angeles community are here to share their experiences and insights into the drug problem.

On our first panel, two very good friends are testifying: Sheriff Block, who has been in the forefront of this fight for many, many years, even before the time that he served officially as sheriff, and our district attorney, Ira Reiner, who has been involved in trying to crack down on the illicit use of drugs.

I look forward to hearing your input on your success, your frustrations, and your suggestions for Federal assistance in the front line of the war on drug abuse.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you very much for bringing this committee to Los Angeles.

[The opening statement of Mr. Levine appears on p. 77.] Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Dymally?

Mr. DYMALLY. Mr. Chairman, in the interest of time, I am not going to have very much to say except to extend to you and to my colleague on the District of Columbia Committee, Mr. Stan Parris, a welcome in Los Angeles to delve into this very, very serious effort and problem we are experiencing here and across the country.

So I am very pleased that we are cooperating in this significant hearing today to hear from the community folks and some of the officials who are concerned and who have the responsibility of putting an end to this epidemic.

So welcome to Los Angeles and thank you very much for this opportunity.

Mr. RANGEL. Thank you, Congressman.

I think it is safe to say that no community group has done more to bring us here than the South Central Organizing Committee and the United Neighborhood Organization. We join with you in applauding the good work that you are doing and I hope that the audience would abide by the Chair's rulings that displays of support toward this testimony by applause would not be consistent with the rules of the House of Representatives.

Having said that, the Chair recognizes Ms. Gwen Cordova, the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, and cochairperson of the South Central Organizing Committee-that should be Catholic Church; Rev. Bryan Jones, Bethany Episcopal Church, and vice president, United Neighborhood Organization; Sheriff Sherman Block; and the well-known district attorney, Ira Reiner.

The Chair would ask your indulgence in restraining from applause during the hearing.

Thank you.

Ms. Cordova?

TESTIMONY OF GWEN CORDOVA, HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND COCHAIRPERSON, SOUTH CENTRAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Ms. CORDOVA. I am Gwen Cordova, cochairperson of the South Central Organizing Committee. SCOC is a church-based organization with 25 member churches representing 44,000 families in south central Los Angeles.

SCOC, along with our sister organization, United Neighborhoods Organization, would like to thank our elected officials who were instrumental in setting up this hearing at our request, Congressman Ed Roybal, who has worked with us on other issues and saw the need for this hearing here in Los Angeles; and Congressman Augustus Hawkins who was also equally visionary.

Thank you, Chairman Rangel.

The ghoulish white faces you see here today are not dressed for Halloween, but are emphasizing the fact that Los Angeles, because of the drug situation here, has become the "City of the Living Dead."

The process by which we arrived at this conclusion started in March when the UNO and SCOC began conducting house meetings of 5 to 10 people where the concerns of the neighborhood were discussed. Of the 7,000 people involved, the number one concern was the drug situation.

One-hundred-sixty teenagers were arrested in a drug sweep of our high schools in October of last year.

We heard stories of a 15-year-old girl, Jodie Samuel, a choir member at the church who was shot down in a wild shooting spree by a person on drugs and died. She was on her way to school.

We also heard the story of the gang member who was shot in a fight over drug turf and died on the steps of Our Lady of Guadelupe Church in the arms of Father Joe Pina.

In July, research action teams were formed to discover what actions could be taken to correct the concerns that surfaced.

The UNO/SCOC drug research action team discovered that Los Angeles has become the drug capital of the United States and that California deserves it fair share of Federal antidrug resources and we should be on part with Miami and New York.

Local law enforcement is doing what it can. Chief Gates has funded the DARE program for the city from the police budget. Sheriff Sherman Block has supported stronger legislation and sponsored a drug education program in the county called SANE. District Attorney Ira Reiner worked for stiffer laws and stronger penalties, but without more Federal funds and support, there will be no relief.

We need all the pieces of the anti-drug posture to fit together to change Los Angeles from the "City of the Living Dead" to the "City of Life."

Mr. RANGEL. Again I will ask the audience please to restrain from applause and the Chair would recognize Reverend Jones of Bethany Episcopal Church.

TESTIMONY OF REV. BRYAN JONES, BETHANY EPISCOPAL CHURCH, VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION, AND CHAIRPERSON, UNITED NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION ANTI-DRUG COMMITTEE

Reverend JONES. I am Father Bryan Jones, executive vice president of the United Neighborhood Organization and chairperson of the UNO Anti-Drug Committee.

UNO is a church-based organization representing 93,000 families on the eastside of Los Angeles.

UNO and its sister organization, the South Central Organizing Committee, have spearheaded the fight against drugs in Los Angeles over the past two years by working in concert with county and state officials to pass tough antidrug legislation and to fund programs that offer our youth an alternative to the street drug culture.

The international drug trade has indeed turned our region into the city of the living dead. In the first nine months of this year, the Los Angeles Police and sheriff departments have made over 42,000 drug arrests. Hundreds of our young people die each year as street gangs turn our neighborhoods into battle zones, as they fight for control of the new drug markets.

Our local law enforcement resources have been stretched beyond the breaking point, and to debate the Federal response has been inadequate. Just three statistics drive home this point.

In the New York City Office of the U.S. attorney, there are 225 prosecutors. They serve 13 million people approximately. For the seven-county central California office which covers L.A., there are only 65 prosecutors.

Los Angeles has 100 to 120 DEA agents. Miami and New York each have 300.

Over the past 5 years, there has been a 30-percent decrease in the number of beds available for drug rehabilitation in Los Angeles due in part to Federal cutbacks.

Today, UNO and SCOC call upon this committee to pursue two desperately needed counterattacks to the City of the Living Dead. First, Federal funding is laudable, but must be seen only as a first downpayment. Long-term financial commitment is needed if this war is to be done, and funding must be put in place for periods of 10 to 15 years.

Second, we call for a Federal drug audit that should be conducted by the General Accounting Office to determine the following: One, the effectiveness of Federal agency and block grant-funded antidrug programs.

Two, to determine if Federal antidrug resources are being allocated across the country according to the needs of a given region; and

Three, objective criteria for funding and allocation.

Those criteria are the first step in forming a national drug strategy which is coordinated and the objective arrived at.

Increased long-term funding and a Federal drug audit together can generate a fair and effective national drug strategy and both are critical, and fair allocation and increased funding because Los Angeles does not want to benefit at another region's expense.

Southern California is in its present crisis in part from the lack of such a coordinated, increased national drug strategy. For example, the isolated Federal crackdown in south Florida has shifted smuggling routes through Mexico into California.

What is needed is not to continue to shift pieces on a board with too few players, but what is needed is a coordinate national attack on drugs with the money, personnel and determination needed to succeed.

Thank you.

[The statement of Reverend Jones appears on p. 80.]

Mr. RANGEL. Mayor Tom Bradley's testimony will be entered into the record, without objection.

[The statement of Mayor Bradley appears on p. 82.]

Mr. RANGEL. Sheriff Block?

TESTIMONY OF SHERMAN BLOCK, SHERIFF, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

Mr. BLOCK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to begin by stating I have had the opportunity to testify before many subcommittees of the Congress, and I have never seen one with so many distinguished congressional Representatives, which tells me that there truly is a great deal of concern relative to this problem of drug abuse.

It is no surprise to us that Los Angeles County is in the forefront of the illicit drug industry and is quickly becoming the drug capital of the world and more specifically because of the volume of cocaine that is coming into our area we have become the nose of the nation.

The Los Angeles County sheriff's department has long recognized the insidious threat posed by growing drug abuse problems and we have been waging our own war on drugs for a number of years.

The enemies in our war include but are not limited to cocaine, heroin, marijuana, Methamphetamine, and these are the most frequently trafficked drugs in Los Angeles County with sources of supply as diverse as the list of drugs themselves.

Today, cocaine is the primary drug of choice in Los Angeles County. Traffickers have capitalized on the demand for cocaine and have established sophisticated networks for international distribution.

The primary source countries are Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia However, other countries such as Ecuador and Brazil have also begun cultivating, processing, and distributing cocaine.

Cocaine is in such plentiful supply in this area that the average price has gone from $65,000 a kilo in 1981 to an average price of $21,000 a kilo in 1986.

Colombia continues to be the principal processing and distribution center to the United States with Colombian nationals as the principal wholesalers of the drugs.

From all indications, we believe that much of the cocaine entering the country is now arriving via the Mexican Border. Seizures in the southern California area would tend to support this contention, as approximately 6 tons of cocaine have been confiscated in this area so far in 1986 alone.

Heroin continues to be a concern in Los Angeles County. There are approximately 490,000 heroin addicts in the United States and an estimated 94,000 to 97,000 of those people reside in Los Angeles County.

Mexican "Black Tar" heroin has been available in southern California for approximately the last 10 years, and has become the heroin of choice in this area during the last 2 to 3 years.

The predominant conveyance method for bringing heroin into Southern California from Mexico is ground transportation, primarily by automobiles, trucks, buses and pedestrian traffic.

Marijuana use appears to be declining somewhat. However, it cannot be overlooked or taken for granted because it remains a "gateway" drug providing a socially accepted way for youngsters to be initiated into drug use.

Los Angeles leads the country in the manufacturing of PCP. The numbers of clandestine laboratories and seizures have been increasing.

During the last two months, we have been involved in several large PCP seizures, including 25 pounds of crystal and 5 gallons of liquid PCP in one case and 11 kilos of crystal PCP in another case. These two seizures alone are sufficient to provide users with 1,192,550 doses of deadly PCP.

A large increase in the use and availability of amphetamines has been noticed in the county this year. The major manufacturers and distributors continue to be the outlaw motorcycle gangs.

The problems facing narcotic officers have become complex in the last 15 to 20 years. Drug users and dealers are no longer confined to any particular communities, but instead create a pervasive problem throughout southern California.

In the 1970's, seizures involving drugs with a street value of $10,000 were very newsworthy. Today, the seizure of a kilo of cocaine, worth approximately $400,000 in the street, is commonplace and gets little attention.

The drug industry involves persons from all economic, ethnic, and cultural groups and is a multi-billion dollar business, supporting to a significant degree the economy of many Third World countries.

A staggering $373 million in cash and assets, not including drugs, seized by DEA in fiscal year 1986 support this contention. That is an average of over $1 million per day, seized by DEA alone.

The sheriff's department's approach to the war on drugs is multifaceted. We recognize the necessity to continue with a strong local enforcement effort, but other areas also need to be addressed:

The demand for narcotics in the United States is, of course, the heart of the problem. One hope for diminishing the demand for narcotics lies in the education of young people. Drug prevention programs must become commonplace in every school in America with government and the private sector taking an active role in providing for the future of our young people.