[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        BAD NEWS ON DRUG CONTROL

  (Mr. CLINGER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLINGER. Mr. Speaker, the Clinton administration's first major 
drug control announcement is bleak. The annual high school survey on 
drug use released on Monday has found that for the first time in over a 
decade, teenage drug use is on the rise. Unfortunately, this comes as 
no great surprise.
  Accurate or not, the clear perception is that President Clinton has 
shown little real interest in fighting drug use. He waited nearly 5 
months to appoint a drug czar, drastically cut his staff, missed 
deadlines for submitting a drug strategy, and has senior members of his 
administration openly advancing or at least studying legalization. No 
wonder drug use is up among our Nation's school children. If the 
President cannot control the statements of his senior advisers on 
legalization, how can we expect him to have any success at controlling 
drug use among our Nation's youth?
  In the space of 2 weeks, the Surgeon General said we should consider 
legalizing drugs and the AIDS czar has called for needle exchange 
programs, both of which send the wrong message about drugs. Our 
Nation's children need strong leadership and a clear and consistent 
message that drug use is dangerous, wrong, and criminal.
  This administration seems confused about how best to fight the war on 
drugs. I sometimes wonder if they are even in the fight.
  Drug use will continue to climb until the President himself makes 
this issue a top priority and gets a unified drug strategy underway.

                          ____________________