[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E727-E728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         THE DRUG ABUSE PROBLEM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CASS BALLENGER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 1998

  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, since the early 1990s, Americans have 
witnessed staggering increases in illegal drug use, especially among 
our nation's youth. Marijuana experimentation is beginning at an 
earlier age, and as a result, our children are turning to deadly drugs 
like LSD, heroin, crack and cocaine at progressively earlier ages. Drug 
abuse also expands our crime problem and is related to about half of 
all street crime.
  And what is being done to solve this horrendous problem? 
Unfortunately, nothing by the Clinton Administration. In fact, one of 
President Clinton's first acts in office was to cut the Drug Czar's 
office by 83 percent. Since 1993, funding for drug interdiction 
programs has been reduced by roughly $1 billion and federal

[[Page E728]]

drug prosecutions and arrests have plummeted.
  In comparison, the Republican Congress has provided effective 
leadership in the war on drugs by providing resources for law 
enforcement and increased funding for DEA anti-drug initiatives such as 
combating Caribbean and Southwest border drug trafficking. In addition, 
we have provided ample funding for the Safe and Drug Free Schools 
program to establish comprehensive, integrated approaches to drug and 
violence prevention at our nation's schools.
  Eliminating America's drug problem, especially the curse of drug use 
among our nation's youth, should be one of the federal government's top 
priorities. I applaud the House's passage yesterday of legislation 
prohibiting federal funding for needle exchange programs and I hope the 
Congress will continue to work to eradicate the scourge of drug abuse 
that continues to eat away at our homes, schools and neighborhoods.

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