[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4446-S4447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE NATION'S DRUG STRATEGY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, yesterday I did not have an opportunity 
to participate in a very important series of speeches on the subject of 
the national drug strategy that were spoken by several of my 
colleagues, particularly on this side of the aisle. I am sorry I was 
not able to do that. That was under the leadership of Senator 
Coverdell, and I compliment Senator Coverdell for his leadership in 
that area. So, it is at this point, albeit 1 day later, that I would 
like to comment on our Nation's drug strategy.
  Mr. President, when I returned to Washington after the Easter recess, 
I returned with a lot on my mind. During the last week of Easter recess 
I held a series of meetings across Iowa to brainstorm with parents, 
educators, law enforcement officers, country attorneys, probation 
officers, juvenile court officials, social service and youth 
specialists, and high school students. I wanted to hear their views on 
juvenile delinquency, violence, and drug use. I held these meetings to 
follow up on a town meeting I held in February. I did this, in part, as 
preparation for the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Act. We need to take a hard look at what works and where 
the act needs to be updated in order to meet today's requirements.
  The meetings highlighted the deep concern of the public over the 
growing problem of violence and drug use among the Nation's young 
people. One of the causes of difficulties is the ease of availability 
of illegal drugs to today's young people. Not only do illegal drugs 
destroy families and ruin the lives of individuals; they exact a heavy 
cost on society as a whole. Whether it is in rising health care costs, 
losses at work, or greater risks on our highways and streets, drugs 
exact a heavy toll. Conservative estimates put the costs at over $67 
billion a year. That does not include the costs of the drugs 
themselves. Nor is it a measure of human misery, which cannot be 
reduced to dollars and cents. When linked to rising crime and violence 
among our young people, the problems become even more disturbing.
  Juvenile crime is not new but it is rising nationwide. What is worse, 
experts say kids commit more violent crimes today and show less 
remorse. In the last decade, murders committed by teens increased by 
150 percent. Just recently, three children, one 6-year-old and two 
twins, aged 8, invaded the house of a neighbor to steal a tricycle. The 
6-year-old, the ring leader, used the occasion to savagely attack an 
infant in its crib. The infant, beat and kicked by the 6-year-old, is 
not expected to live, and if he does live, he is likely to have brain 
damage. The crime was premeditated and vicious. Unfortunately, this 
tale of children killing children is becoming increasingly common. As 
is drug use among teenagers and even elementary school kids.
  What is unfortunate about this rise in drug use is that it comes 
after years of declines. It comes after we had made considerable 
progress. After years in which ``Just Say No'' helped lift a generation 
of kids past the most vulnerable years--ages 12 to 20. Not only is use 
returning, but kids see less danger in using drugs than just a few 
years ago. Somewhere we put a foot wrong, and now we face the prospect 
of a new generation of addicts.
  We cannot let this happen. Recently, I cochaired a congressional task 
force to lay the groundwork for fighting back. Last week I held a 
hearing on the domestic consequences of drug trafficking and use. Last 
month the Task Force on National Drug Policy, convened by Senator Dole 
and Speaker Gingrich, released ``Setting the Course: A National Drug 
Strategy''. In that report, we set out many of the prevention, 
treatment, law enforcement, and interdiction initiatives that we need 
to undertake to respond to the growing challenge of returning drug use. 
Senator Hatch, Congressman Zeliff and I, along with others, have been 
working to put the drug issue back on the national agenda after years 
of neglect and virtual silence from the administration.

  Yesterday, the administration, belatedly, issued its own strategy on 
how to fight back. While I welcome General McCaffrey, the new drug 
czar, to the fray, I am concerned that the strategy released by the 
administration is long on platitudes and shy on substance. While I do 
not doubt the General's sincerity, I am not all that confident in the 
administration's commitment to supporting him. Indeed, the General's 
first task is imply to recover much of the ground lost in the last 3 
years. His effort is aimed at damage control. The strategy, 
unfortunately, is a prisoner to that effort. And it shows. It outlines 
fine sentiments, but it is skimpy on any measurable standards. It is 
hard to fault such language as the strategy contains. But it says 
little other than it is against drugs. It offers little in concrete 
measures to determine whether intent will be backed up by deeds. And it 
fights shy of providing any criteria to measure success.
  I know that General McCaffrey intends to do all in his power to fight 
this problem, but when it comes to serious effort, my response is, 
``Show me, don't tell me.'' It is important that we get action not more 
words.
  This administration has been more than invisible on the drug issue in 
the past 3 years. It has tried to bury the drug issue. The first 
official act on drugs of this administration was to gut the drug czar's 
office. To cut its staff by 80 percent. It was this administration's 
first Surgeon General that called for the legalization of drugs. It was 
this administration that replaced ``Just Say No'' with ``Just Say 
Nothing.'' It was this administration that replaced a strategy that was 
working with one that has presided over one of the largest increases in 
use in the last 30 years. Furthermore, in the past 3 years under this 
administration's approach, the movement to legalize drugs has gained 
momentum.
  It is deja vu all over again. Music, movies, and the media have begun 
to glamorize drug use. To normalize it in print and song. Meanwhile the 
response from the administration to rising teenage drug use or the 
effort to legalize dangerous drugs has been like pulling teeth to 
monitor, difficult to explain, and hard to spot with the naked eye.
  It is only after growing criticism from Congress and from the public 
that the administration has begun, at long last, to at least talk about 
the drug issue. The President has had more to say about the drug issue 
in the past 2 months than in the past 3 years. It is about time. It is 
only after efforts by Congress to force a more serious strategy on the 
administration, and to insist upon accountability in programs, that the 
administration has begun to speak about meaningful efforts.
  The administration is now talking about the need for a 
bipartisan effort. I, for one, welcome such an effort. But let us not 
mistake criticism of failed policies as partisanship. It is, after all, 
criticisms of the past few years of effort that have led to the 
present, election-year reversals. It is breaking the silence on poor 
performance and neglect that have led to renewed attention to drug 
policy. To the appointment of a new drug czar. To a rediscovered 
interest by the President in drug policy.

[[Page S4447]]

  Better late than never. But, while I welcome the present born-again 
policy, I remain concerned about the intent behind it. There is more 
showmanship and political maneuvering in the present effort than depth 
of commitment. I know that General McCaffrey is not running for 
reelection. I believe that General McCaffrey is serious when he says he 
wants a bipartisan approach. I am less certain about the motives of 
others in the administration. I remain concerned that many of the Key 
advisers on policy are hostile to serious enforcement and interdiction 
efforts. I am concerned about the commitment of some of the advisers to 
the White House to keeping drugs illegal.
  Nevertheless, I welcome the strategy and I hope that the 
administration will support the drug czar, unlike his predecessor. I 
hope that we will see more action. I hope that the action that we see 
focuses less on backdrops and photo ops, and more on results.
  I yield the floor.

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