§ 1703. Appointment and duties of Director and Deputy Directors

§ 1703. Appointment and duties of Director and Deputy Directors

(a) Appointment

(1) In general

(A) Director

(i) In general There shall be at the head of the Office a Director who shall hold the same rank and status as the head of an executive department listed in section 101 of title 5.

(ii) Appointment The Director shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the President.

(B) Deputy Director There shall be a Deputy Director who shall report directly to the Director, and who shall be appointed by the President, and shall serve at the pleasure of the President.

(C) Coordinators The following coordinators shall be appointed by the Director:

(i) Performance Budget Coordinator, as described in subsection (c)(5).

(ii) Interdiction Coordinator, as described in section 1710 of this title.

(iii) Emerging and Continuing Threats Coordinator, as described in section 1708 of this title.

(iv) State, Local, and Tribal Affairs Coordinator, to carry out the activities described in subsection (j).

(v) Demand Reduction Coordinator, as described in subparagraph (D).

(D) Demand Reduction Coordinator The Director shall designate or appoint a United States Demand Reduction Coordinator to be responsible for the activities described in section 1701(3) of this title. For purposes of carrying out the previous sentence, the Director shall designate or appoint an appointee in the Senior Executive Service or an appointee in a position at level 15 of the General Schedule (or equivalent).

(2) Duties of Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy The Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy shall—

(A) carry out the duties and powers prescribed by the Director; and

(B) serve as the Director in the absence of the Director or during any period in which the office of the Director is vacant.

(3) Acting Director If the Director dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office, the Deputy Director shall perform the functions and duties of the Director temporarily in an acting capacity pursuant to subchapter III of chapter 33 of title 5.

(4) Prohibition No person shall serve as Director or a Deputy Director while serving in any other position in the Federal Government.

(5) Prohibition on political campaigning Any officer or employee of the Office who is appointed to that position by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may not participate in Federal election campaign activities, except that such officer or employee is not prohibited by this paragraph from making contributions to individual candidates.

(6) Prohibition on the use of funds for ballot initiatives No funds authorized under this chapter may be obligated for the purpose of expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a State or local ballot initiative.

(b) Responsibilities The Director—

(1) shall assist the President in the establishment of policies, goals, objectives, and priorities for the National Drug Control Program;

(2) shall promulgate the National Drug Control Strategy under section 1705(a) of this title and each report under section 1705(b) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title in accordance with section 1705 of this title;

(3) shall coordinate and oversee the implementation by the National Drug Control Program agencies of the policies, goals, objectives, and priorities established under paragraph (1) and the fulfillment of the responsibilities of such agencies under the National Drug Control Strategy and make recommendations to National Drug Control Program agency heads with respect to implementation of Federal counter-drug programs;

(4) shall make such recommendations to the President as the Director determines are appropriate regarding changes in the organization, management, and budgets of National Drug Control Program agencies, and changes in the allocation of personnel to and within those departments and agencies, to implement the policies, goals, priorities, and objectives established under paragraph (1) and the National Drug Control Strategy;

(5) shall consult with and assist State and local governments with respect to the formulation and implementation of National Drug Control Policy and their relations with the National Drug Control Program agencies;

(6) shall appear before duly constituted committees and subcommittees of the House of Representatives and of the Senate to represent the drug policies of the executive branch;

(7) shall notify any National Drug Control Program agency if its policies are not in compliance with the responsibilities of the agency under the National Drug Control Strategy, transmit a copy of each such notification to the President and the appropriate congressional committees, and maintain a copy of each such notification;

(8) shall provide, by July 1 of each year, budget recommendations, including requests for specific initiatives that are consistent with the priorities of the President under the National Drug Control Strategy, to the heads of departments and agencies with responsibilities under the National Drug Control Program, which recommendations shall—

(A) apply to the next budget year scheduled for formulation under chapter 11 of title 31, and each of the 4 subsequent fiscal years; and

(B) address funding priorities developed in the National Drug Control Strategy;

(9) may serve as representative of the President in appearing before Congress on all issues relating to the National Drug Control Program;

(10) shall, in any matter affecting national security interests, work in conjunction with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;

(11) may serve as spokesperson of the Administration on drug issues;

(12) shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 812 of this title and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that—

(A) is listed in schedule I of section 812 of this title; and

(B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration;

(13) Repealed. Pub. L. 115–271, title VIII, § 8221(b)(1)(A), Oct. 24, 2018, 132 Stat. 4142.

(14) shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees on an annual basis, not later than 60 days after the date of the last day of the applicable period, a summary of—

(A) each of the evaluations received by the Director under section 1705(g)(2) of this title; and

(B) the progress of each National Drug Control Program agency toward the drug control program goals of the agency using the performance measures for the agency developed under section 1705(c) 22 Probably should be “1705(h)”. of this title;

(15) shall ensure that drug prevention and drug treatment research and information is effectively disseminated by National Drug Control Program agencies to State and local governments and nongovernmental entities involved in demand reduction by—

(A) encouraging formal consultation between any such agency that conducts or sponsors research, and any such agency that disseminates information in developing research and information product development agendas;

(B) encouraging such agencies (as appropriate) to develop and implement dissemination plans that specifically target State and local governments and nongovernmental entities involved in demand reduction; and

(C) supporting the substance abuse information clearinghouse administered by the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and established in section 290aa(d)(16) of title 42 by—

(i) encouraging all National Drug Control Program agencies to provide all appropriate and relevant information; and

(ii) supporting the dissemination of information to all interested entities;

(16) shall coordinate with the private sector to promote private research and development of medications to treat addiction;

(17) Repealed. Pub. L. 115–271, title VIII, § 8221(b)(1)(A), Oct. 24, 2018, 132 Stat. 4142.

(18) shall monitor and evaluate the allocation of resources among Federal law enforcement agencies in response to significant local and regional drug trafficking and production threats;

(19) shall submit an annual report to Congress detailing how the Office of National Drug Control Policy has consulted with and assisted State, local, and tribal governments with respect to the formulation and implementation of the National Drug Control Strategy and other relevant issues;

(20) shall, within 1 year after December 29, 2006, report to Congress on the impact of each Federal drug reduction strategy upon the availability, addiction rate, use rate, and other harms of illegal drugs; and

(21) in order to formulate the national drug control policies, goals, objectives, and priorities—

(A) shall consult with and assist—

(i) State and local governments;

(ii) National Drug Control Program agencies;

(iii) each committee, working group, council, or other entity established under this chapter, as appropriate;

(iv) the public;

(v) appropriate congressional committees; and

(vi) any other person in the discretion of the Director; and

(B) may—

(i) establish advisory councils;

(ii) acquire data from agencies; and

(iii) request data from any other entity.

(c) National Drug Control Program budget

(1) Responsibilities of National Drug Control Program agencies

(A) In general For each fiscal year, the head of each department, agency, or program of the Federal Government with responsibilities under the National Drug Control Program Strategy shall transmit to the Director a copy of the proposed drug control budget request of the department, agency, or program at the same time as that budget request is submitted to their superiors (and before submission to the Office of Management and Budget) in the preparation of the budget of the President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31.

(B) Submission of drug control budget requests The head of each National Drug Control Program agency shall ensure timely development and submission to the Director of each proposed drug control budget request transmitted pursuant to this paragraph, in such format as may be designated by the Director with the concurrence of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(C) Content of drug control budget requests A drug control budget request submitted by a department, agency, or program under this paragraph shall include all requests for funds for any drug control activity undertaken by that department, agency, or program, including demand reduction, supply reduction, and State, local, and tribal affairs, including any drug law enforcement activities. If an activity has both drug control and nondrug control purposes or applications, the department, agency, or program shall estimate by a documented calculation the total funds requested for that activity that would be used for drug control, and shall set forth in its request the basis and method for making the estimate.

(2) National Drug Control Program budget proposal For each fiscal year, following the transmission of proposed drug control budget requests to the Director under paragraph (1), the Director shall, in consultation with the head of each National Drug Control Program agency and the head of each major national organization that represents law enforcement officers, agencies, or associations—

(A) develop a consolidated National Drug Control Program budget proposal designed to implement the National Drug Control Strategy and to inform Congress and the public about the total amount proposed to be spent on all supply reduction, demand reduction, State, local, and tribal affairs, including any drug law enforcement, and other drug control activities by the Federal Government, which shall conform to the content requirements set forth in paragraph (1)(C) and include—

(i) the funding level for each National Drug Control Program agency; and

(ii) alternative funding structures that could improve progress on achieving the goals of the National Drug Control Strategy; and

(B) submit the consolidated budget proposal to the President and Congress.

(3) Review and certification of budget requests and budget submissions of National Drug Control Program agencies

(A) In general The Director shall review each drug control budget request submitted to the Director under paragraph (1).

(B) Review of budget requests

(i) Inadequate requests If the Director concludes that a budget request submitted under paragraph (1) is inadequate, in whole or in part, to implement the objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy with respect to the department, agency, or program at issue for the year for which the request is submitted, the Director shall submit to the head of the applicable National Drug Control Program agency a written description of funding levels and specific initiatives that would, in the determination of the Director, make the request adequate to implement those objectives.

(ii) Adequate requests If the Director concludes that a budget request submitted under paragraph (1) is adequate to implement the objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy with respect to the department, agency, or program at issue for the year for which the request is submitted, the Director shall submit to the head of the applicable National Drug Control Program agency a written statement confirming the adequacy of the request.

(iii) Record The Director shall maintain a record of each description submitted under clause (i) and each statement submitted under clause (ii).

(C) Specific requests The Director shall not confirm the adequacy of any budget request that requests a level of funding that will not enable achievement of the goals of the National Drug Control Strategy, including—

(i) requests funding for Federal law enforcement activities that do not adequately compensate for transfers of drug enforcement resources and personnel to law enforcement and investigation activities;

(ii) requests funding for law enforcement activities on the borders of the United States that do not adequately direct resources to drug interdiction and enforcement;

(iii) requests funding for substance use disorder prevention and treatment activities that do not provide adequate results and accountability measures; and

(iv) requests funding for drug treatment activities that do not adequately support and enhance Federal drug treatment programs and capacity.

(D) Agency response

(i) In general The head of a National Drug Control Program agency that receives a description under subparagraph (B)(i) shall include the funding levels and initiatives described by the Director in the budget submission for that agency to the Office of Management and Budget.

(ii) Impact statement The head of a National Drug Control Program agency that has altered its budget submission under this subparagraph shall include as an appendix to the budget submission for that agency to the Office of Management and Budget an impact statement that summarizes—

(I) the changes made to the budget under this subparagraph; and

(II) the impact of those changes on the ability of that agency to perform its other responsibilities, including any impact on specific missions or programs of the agency.

(iii) Congressional notification The head of a National Drug Control Program agency shall submit a copy of any impact statement under clause (ii) to the Senate and the House of Representatives and the appropriate congressional committees, at the time the budget for that agency is submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31.

(E) Certification of budget submissions

(i) In general At the time a National Drug Control Program agency submits its budget request to the Office of Management and Budget, the head of the National Drug Control Program agency shall submit a copy of the budget request to the Director.

(ii) Certification The Director shall—

(I) review each budget submission submitted under clause (i);

(II) based on the review under subclause (I), make a determination as to whether the budget submission of a National Drug Control Program agency includes the funding levels and initiatives described in subparagraph (B); and

(III) submit to the appropriate congressional committees—

(aa) a written statement that either—

(AA) certifies that the budget submission includes sufficient funding; or

(BB) decertifies the budget submission as not including sufficient funding;

(bb) a copy of the description made under subparagraph (B); and

(cc) the budget recommendations made under subsection (b)(8).

(4) Reprogramming and transfer requests

(A) In general No National Drug Control Program agency shall submit to Congress a reprogramming or transfer request with respect to any amount of appropriated funds in an amount exceeding $5,000,000 or 10 percent of a specific program or account that is included in the National Drug Control Program budget unless the request has been approved by the Director. If the Director has not responded to a request for reprogramming subject to this subparagraph within 30 days after receiving notice of the request having been made, the request shall be deemed approved by the Director under this subparagraph and forwarded to Congress.

(B) Appeal The head of any National Drug Control Program agency may appeal to the President any disapproval by the Director of a reprogramming or transfer request under this paragraph.

(5) Performance-Budget Coordinator

(A) Designation The Director shall designate or appoint a United States Performance-Budget Coordinator to—

(i) ensure the Director has sufficient information necessary to analyze the performance of each National Drug Control Program agency, the impact Federal funding has had on the goals in the Strategy, and the likely contributions to the goals of the Strategy based on funding levels of each National Drug Control Program agency, to make an independent assessment of the budget request of each agency under this subsection;