[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 19 (Tuesday, March 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H731-H732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




1998 NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                             UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Agriculture, Committee on 
Banking and Financial Services, Committee on Commerce, Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight, Committee on International Relations, Committee on National 
Security, Committee on Resources, Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Committee on Ways 
and Means:

To the Congress of the United States:
  On behalf of the American people, I am pleased to transmit the 1998 
National Drug Control Strategy to the Congress. The 1998 Strategy 
reaffirms our bipartisan, enduring commitment to reduce drug use and 
its destructive consequences.
  This year's Strategy builds upon the 1997 Strategy and is designed to 
reduce

[[Page H732]]

drug use and availability in America in half over the next 10 years--a 
historic new low. This plan has been developed under the leadership of 
General Barry McCaffrey, Director of National Drug Control Policy, in 
close consultation with the Congress, the more than 50 Federal agencies 
and departments involved in the fight against drugs, the dedicated men 
and women of law enforcement, and with stakeholders--mayors, doctors, 
clergy, civic leaders, parents, and young people--drawn from all 
segments of our society.
  I am also proud to report that we have made real and substantial 
progress in carrying out the goals of the 1997 Strategy. Working with 
the Congress, we have begun the National Anti-Drug Youth Media 
Campaign. Now when our children turn on the television, surf the 
``net,'' or listen to the radio, they can learn the plain truth about 
drugs: they are wrong, they put your future at risk, and they can kill 
you. I thank you for your vital support in bringing this important 
message to America's young people.
  Together, we enacted into law the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997, 
which will help build and strengthen 14,000 community anti-drug 
coalitions and brought together civic groups--ranging from the Elks to 
the Girl Scouts and representing over 55 million Americans--to form a 
Civic Alliance, targeting youth drug use. By mobilizing people and 
empowering communities, we are defeating drugs through a child-by-
child, street-by-street, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach.
  We have also helped make our streets and communities safer by 
strengthening law enforcement. Through my Administration's Community 
Oriented Police (COPs) program, we are helping put 100,000 more police 
officers in towns and cities across the Nation. We are taking deadly 
assault weapons out of the hands of drug dealers and gangs, making our 
streets safer for our families. We have taken steps to rid our prisons 
of drugs, as well as to break the vicious cycle of drugs and crime. 
These efforts are making a difference: violent crime in America has 
dropped dramatically for 5 years in a row.

  Over the last year, the United States and Mexico reached agreement on 
a mutual Threat Assessment that defines the scope of the common threat 
we face; and, an Alliance that commits our great nations to defeating 
that threat. Soon, we will sign a bilateral Strategy that commits both 
nations to specific actions and performance benchmarks. Our work to 
enhance cooperation within the hemisphere and worldwide is already 
showing results. For example, Peruvian coca production has declined by 
roughly 40 percent over the last 2 years. In 1997, Mexican drug 
eradication rates reached record levels, and seizures increased nearly 
50 percent over 1996.
  We are making a difference. Drug use in America has declined by 50 
percent over the last decade. For the first time in 6 years, studies 
show that youth drug use is beginning to stabilize, and in some 
respects in even declining. And indications are that the 
methamphetamine and crack cocaine epidemics, which in recent years were 
sweeping the Nation, have begun to recede.
  However, we must not confuse progress with ultimate success. Although 
youth drug use has started to decline, it remains unacceptably high.
  More than ever, we must recommit ourselves to give parents the tools 
and support they need to teach children that drugs are dangerous and 
wrong. That is why we must improve the Safe and Drug-Free Schools 
program, and other after school initiatives that help keep our kids in 
school, off drugs, and out of trouble. We must hire 1,000 new border 
patrol agents and close the door on drugs at our borders. We must 
redouble our efforts with other nations to take the profits out of drug 
dealing and trafficking and break the sources of supply. And we must 
enact comprehensive bipartisan tobacco legislation that reduces youth 
smoking. These and other efforts are central elements of the 1998 
National Drug Control Strategy.
  With the help of the American public, and the ongoing support of the 
Congress, we can achieve these goals. In submitting this plan to you, I 
ask for your continued partnership in defeating drugs in America. Our 
children and this Nation deserve no less.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, March 3, 1998.

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