U.S. Senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, are cosponsoring a bill with several of their colleagues that prohibits use of federal funds for drug paraphernalia. The Cutting off Rampant Access to Crack Kits (CRACK) Act would amend the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which Grassley says appears to set aside $30 million of the $1.9 trillion bill to purchase, supply or distribute crack pipes. The proposed bill is also sponsored by more than a dozen fellow Republican senators after a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services document listed “safe smoking kits/supplies” as one of the possible uses for ARPA grant funds. The Biden administration has since clarified the grants were never intended to be used on smoking devices, but this sparked a rebuke from online activists, who claim pipe distribution is health care. Grassley says, “Under no circumstances should Iowans’ tax dollars be used to pay for drug addicts’ crack pipes. While I’m glad to hear the Biden administration has backpedaled on this plan, our plan will ensure grants can’t ever be used to pay for crack pipes.”
