[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 87 (Monday, July 6, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S7362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               REAUTHORIZING THE OFFICE OF THE DRUG CZAR

   Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, for the past two weeks I have been 
working with Senator Gordon Smith, Senator Biden and others to reach an 
agreement so that the legislation reauthorizing the office of the so-
called Drug Czar, H.R. 2610, can move forward. I do not object to the 
reauthorization, but have been prevented from offering an amendment to 
the measure and will not give my consent to adoption of the Drug Czar 
bill until we have reached agreement on my amendment. The amendment I 
wish to offer is bipartisan legislation Senator Gordon Smith and I have 
sponsored in response to the gun violence that struck Thurston High 
School in Springfield, Oregon. The bill, S. 2169, would provide an 
incentive for states to enact a 72-hour holding period for students 
that bring guns to schools so that the students who bring guns to 
school may be fully and thoroughly evaluated by professionals. The 
President has endorsed our proposal, and it is my hope that we can 
reach a consensus that allows the Senate to pass both the Drug Czar 
measure and the Wyden-Smith bill.

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