[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3035-S3036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE TRICKLE DOWN DEFECT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I have had a number of things to say 
lately about leadership and moral posture. I have mentioned these 
issues several times on this floor in the past few days. I wish to draw 
the attention of my colleagues to an example of what a void in clear 
leadership and guidance means. It illustrates what we might call the 
trickle down defect.
  When there is uncertain leadership, when leaders are unclear on their 
true intent, their irresoluteness trickles down. Nowhere is this effect 
easier to detect than in this administration's drug policy. From almost 
the first day of this administration there have been mixed signals and 
muddled directions about our drug policy. While the words have pointed 
in one direction, actions have gone off in every direction. The only 
thing that has been constant has been inconsistency.
  One of the best examples of that was the President's move to fire 
most of the people in the drug czar's office just after his 
inauguration. That office was then not supported. The drug issue fell 
off the agenda. The President called ``time out'' in the war on drugs.
  Lately, the administration is moving to restore personnel to the drug 
czar's office. I am sure there is no connection between that move and 
the fact that this is an election year. Miraculously and suddenly, the 
President has learned what the American people have known all along. 
One of the most important tools in fighting drug abuse among kids is to 
provide consistent leadership--to have a consistent message. At one 
time, we had that. The most remembered phrase from the years before Mr. 
Clinton was ``Just say no.'' Unfortunately, we lost that message.
  The most remembered phrase of this administration is, ``I didn't 
inhale.''
  Today, a mixed and muddled message has trickled down through the 
bureaucracy. We have seen a falling off in effort. We have seen 
confused priorities. We have seen a decline in interagency 
coordination. We have not seen much in the way of leadership. What we 
have seen is rising drug abuse.
  And, this lack of consistency has consequences. The latest example 
comes from just the past few days. The Centers for Disease Control, a 
Federal agency based in Atlanta and paid for by the taxpayers, 
cosponsored a conference this past weekend. The conference was held 
under the innocent enough title of ``harm reduction.'' Unfortunately, 
that mild phrase conceals a bleak reality. Things are not always what 
they seem.
  Many of the other cosponsors of the conference, such as the Drug 
Policy Foundation and the Lindesmith Center, are among the largest drug 
legalization lobbies in this country. The press release announcing the 
conference put out by the Drug Policy Foundation ends with a call, and 
I quote, ``End the Drug War''. The stated goal of these organizations 
is to get drugs legalized. The CDC, perhaps unknowingly, have 
associated themselves with this position. A position that is supposedly 
directly opposite of the administration's stated policy. What you have 
is a Government agency charged with dealing with controlling epidemics 
collaborating with those who want to legalize drugs, which would cause 
a major epidemic. This is a masquerade. But, it is clear that the CDC 
is confused about what our policy

[[Page S3036]]

is. Confused about their role in supporting that policy. But it should 
not come as a surprise.
  Mixed up and muddled. Confused signals and uncertain direction. 
Actions that belie statements. This has been the recent legacy. No 
wonder people are confused.
  When these things happen, who is responsible? Who do we look to? You 
have to look to the people who set the course. Remember that the CDC 
comes under the Public Health Service, which works for the Surgeon 
General. And who was our last Surgeon General? Joycelyn Elders. Recall 
that she was the one who sounded the call for legalization in the first 
days of the Clinton administration. There was never any meaningful 
response. Certainly the decimated Drug Czar's office could mount no 
convincing reply. Unfortunately, Dr. Elders' remarks remain fixed in 
public memory. Everyone remembers her, who remembers anything said by 
the Drug Czar? Or the President?
  We have seen lately a born-again drug policy from the administration, 
the message is still unclear. Evidently, the CDC is still confused. But 
their confusion is no orphan.
  When the message broadcast from the top is contradictory. When it is 
hedged with qualifiers. When the guidance is unclear, it should come as 
no surprise to find bungling at the bottom.
  Here we have the Centers for Disease Control, part of our national 
effort to fight the war on drugs, lending its name and prestige against 
the war of drugs. The right hand of this administration does not know 
what the left hand is up to. Lack of leadership trickles down. Is it 
any wonder that teenage drug use is on the rise? Is it any wonder that 
kids are unclear on why it is both harmful and wrong to use drugs? When 
you do not know where you are going, is it any wonder that you get 
lost? The failure of leadership demands a high price.

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