[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 163 (Thursday, November 29, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12119-S12121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF JOHN WALTERS

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on behalf of all 
parents and grandparents, teachers, clergy, mentors, law enforcement, 
treatment and prevention coalitions, and all the others who work every 
day to prevent illegal drug use from destroying the lives of our young 
people. Our country needs John Walters, the President's nominee for 
drug czar, to be confirmed. It is shameful that here we are in 
November, and Mr. Walters remains the President's only Cabinet member 
who has not been confirmed.
  To say that the confirmation of Mr. Walters has been obstructed is by 
no means an exaggeration. It has been 203 days since the President 
announced his choice of John Walters to be the next Director of the 
Office of National Drug Control Policy. It has been 177 days since the 
Senate received his nomination. It has been 50 days since Mr. Walters' 
hearing before the Judiciary Committee. And it has been 21 days since 
his nomination was voted out of the Judiciary Committee by a wide 
margin and sent to the Senate floor. How many more days, weeks, and 
months can we expect this nomination to linger before a vote is finally 
scheduled? In my view, we have already waited much too long.
  John Walters' confirmation will also add another much-needed weapon 
to our arsenal in the war against terrorism. Since the September 11 
attacks, there has been much discussion about the nexus between drug 
trafficking and terrorism. We know that proceeds from the manufacturing 
and trafficking of opium poppy helped sustain the Taliban's control of 
Afghanistan. We also know that terrorist organizations routinely 
launder the proceeds from drug trafficking and use the funds to support 
and expand their operations internationally, including purchasing and 
trafficking illegal weapons. I am sure in the coming months and years, 
we will continue to learn about the clandestine connection between 
drugs and terrorists.
  The situation in Afghanistan also bodes ill for the world's supply of 
heroin. In 2000, over 70 percent of the world's heroin was produced in 
Afghanistan. Stockpiles of Afghan heroin were reportedly dumped on the 
market after the September 11 attacks. While officials in America and 
Europe are bracing for the onslaught of cheap heroin that will soon be 
hitting the markets in all neighborhoods across America and Europe, we 
have no drug czar. The

[[Page S12120]]

head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA, Asa Hutchinson, 
recently referred to the situation in Afghanistan as a ``rare 
opportunity'' for U.S. antidrug efforts to act on the successes of the 
military campaign and influence the future direction of heroin 
production in Afghanistan. While I have great confidence in the work 
Asa Hutchinson and the DEA are doing, the administration needs its lead 
drug control policy official in place to help formulate a comprehensive 
policy designed to reduce significantly heroin production in 
Afghanistan.

  Mr. Walters will have to work closely with law enforcement and 
intelligence authorities to ensure that the international component of 
the Nation's drug control policy is designed not only to prevent drugs 
from being trafficked into America but also to prevent the 
manufacturing and sale of drugs for the purpose of funding terrorist 
activities. Mr. Walters is eminently qualified to carry out this task, 
and I am confident that he will be a first-rate Director. He is the 
right person for this job.
  John Walters' career in public service has prepared him well for this 
office. He has worked tirelessly over the last 2 decades helping to 
formulate and improve comprehensive policies designed to keep drugs 
away from our children. By virtue of this experience, he truly has 
unparalleled knowledge and experience in all facets of drug control 
policy. Lest there be any doubt that Mr. Walters' past efforts were 
successful, let me point out that during his tenure at the Department 
of Education and ONDCP, drug use in America fell to its lowest level at 
any time in the past 25 years, and drug use by teens plunged over 50 
percent. Mr. Walters has remained a vocal advocate for curbing illegal 
drug use. Tragically, as illegal drug use edged upward under the 
previous administration, his voice went unheeded.
  John Walters enjoys widespread support from distinguished members of 
the law enforcement community, including the Fraternal Order of Police 
and the National Troopers Coalition. His nomination is also supported 
by some of the most prominent members of the prevention and treatment 
communities, including the National Association of Drug Court 
Professionals, the American Methadone Treatment Association, the 
Partnership for Drug Free America, National Families in Action, and the 
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. All of these organizations 
agree that if we are to win the war on drugs in America, we need a 
comprehensive policy aimed at reducing both the demand for and supply 
of drugs. Mr. Walters' accomplished record demonstrates that he, too, 
has always believed in such a comprehensive approach. As he stated 
before Congress in 1993, an effective antidrug strategy must 
``integrate efforts to reduce the supply of as well as the demand for 
illegal drugs.''

  Despite this groundswell of support, ever since Mr. Walters was first 
mentioned almost 7 months ago to be the next drug czar, several 
interested individuals and groups have attacked his nomination with a 
barrage of unfounded criticisms. Because of these untruths, I believe 
his confirmation has been delayed, and I feel compelled to respond to 
some of these gross distortions of John Walters' record.
  The most common criticism I have heard is that John Walters is 
hostile to drug treatment. This is categorically false. He has a long, 
documented history of supporting drug treatment as an integral 
component of a balanced national drug control policy. You do not have 
to take my word on this. You need only look at the numbers. Keep in 
mind, just today, just an hour ago, we passed the Hatch-Leahy ``Drug 
Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2001'' out of the 
Judiciary Committee. The bulk of the money in that bill will go for 
drug treatment, education, and prevention programs. And we have done so 
with the advice and counsel of Mr. Walters. So that is a false 
accusation. But look at the numbers.

  During Mr. Walters' tenure at ONDCP, treatment funding increased 74 
percent. Compare that with the increase over 8 years for the Clinton 
administration of a mere 17 percent. This commitment to expanding 
treatment explains why John Walters has such broad support from the 
treatment community. It is simply inconceivable to believe that all of 
the prominent groups that are supporting Mr. Walters would do so if 
they believed he was hostile to treatment programs.
  Another recurring criticism is that Mr. Walters doesn't support a 
balanced drug control policy that incorporates both supply and demand 
reduction programs. This criticism, too, is flat wrong and again belied 
by his record. For example, in testimony given before this committee in 
1991, Mr. Walters, then acting Director of ONDCP, laid out a national 
drug control strategy that included the following guiding principles: 
educating our citizens about the dangers of drug use, placing more 
addicts in effective treatment programs, expanding the number and 
quality of treatment programs, reducing the supply and availability of 
drugs on our streets, and dismantling trafficking organizations through 
tough law enforcement and interdiction measures.
  Mr. Walters' support of prevention programs is equally evident. His 
commitment to prevention became clear during his tenure at the 
Department of Education during the Reagan administration. He drafted 
the Department's first drug prevention guide for parents and teachers 
entitled, ``Schools Without Drugs'' and created the Department's first 
prevention advertising campaign, and implemented the Drug-Free Schools 
grant program.
  These are not the words or actions of an ideologue who is hostile to 
prevention and treatment but, rather, represent the firmly held beliefs 
of a man of conviction who has fought hard to include effective 
prevention and treatment programs in the fight against drug abuse.
  Some have also charged that Mr. Walters doesn't believe the oft-
repeated liberal shibboleth too many low-level, ``non-violent'' drug 
offenders are being arrested, prosecuted, and jailed. I, too, plead 
guilty, and we have the facts on our side. Data from the Bureau of 
Justice Statistics, BJS, reveals that 67.4 percent of Federal 
defendants convicted of simple possession had prior arrest records, and 
54 percent had prior convictions. Moreover, prison sentences handed 
down for possession offenses amount to just 1 percent of Federal prison 
sentences. It is flatly untrue that a significant proportion of our 
Federal prison population consists of individuals who have done nothing 
other than possess illegal drugs for their personal consumption.
  The simple fact is that the drug legalization camp exaggerates the 
rate at which defendants are jailed solely for simple possession. Mr. 
Walters, to his credit, has had the courage to publicly refute these 
misleading statistics. And to these critics I want to make one other 
point perfectly clear. Those who sell drugs, whatever type and whatever 
quantity, are not, to this father and grandfather, nonviolent 
offenders, not when each pill, each joint, each line, and each needle 
can--and often does--destroy a young person's life. Mr. Walters' 
critics have shamefully distorted his statements to claim that he 
favors jailing first-time, nonviolent offenders.
  I am committed 100 percent to expanding and improving drug abuse 
education, prevention, and treatment programs, and I know that John 
Walters is my ally in this effort. Earlier this year I introduced S. 
304, the Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2001, a 
bipartisan bill that I drafted with my good friend, Senator Leahy, 
Senators Biden, DeWine, Thurmond, Feinstein, and Grassley. This 
legislation will dramatically increase prevention and treatment 
efforts. In drafting the bill, I repeatedly solicited Mr. Walters' 
expert advice. I know, and his record clearly reflects, that he agrees 
with me and my colleagues that prevention and treatment must remain 
integral components of our national drug control policy.
  We just passed that bill out of the Judiciary Committee this morning. 
I hope it will be called up immediately and passed out of the Senate 
because it will make such a difference in the lives of our young people 
around this country. If I recall correctly, Joe Califano, the former 
head of HEW, Health, Education, and Welfare--now Health and Human 
Services--called this bill truly revolutionary and one that he could 
support wholeheartedly. He is not alone.

  We need to shore up our support for demand reduction programs if we 
are

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to reduce illegal drug use in America. This belief is bipartisan. Our 
President believes it. Our Attorney General believes it. Our Democratic 
leader in the Senate believes it. My Republican colleagues believe it. 
And most importantly, John Walters believes it.
  Since being nominated in May, Mr. Walters has made himself available 
to all Senators on the Judiciary Committee. He has throughly answered 
all questions posed to him by the Judiciary Committee, as well as 
questions from Senators not on the Committee. I commend the President 
for his selection and nomination of John Walters, and I call upon the 
Democratic leader to end the delay, remove all holds, and schedule a 
vote on Mr. Walters' nomination as early as possible, this week, if he 
could. At a time when we are at war, it is simply not prudent or proper 
to play politics with this nomination. I urge my colleagues to reject 
the efforts of those who have wrongfully sought to taint John Walters 
and to support an immediate vote on his nomination.
  Finally, I urge Chairman Leahy not to let this session end without 
holding hearings for the deputy positions at ONDCP. Mr. Walters needs 
his team in place. I look forward to working with my Senate Republican 
and Democratic colleagues and the administration to carry forward our 
fight against drug trafficking and terrorism.
  Let me make one or two final remarks. I was pleased to see the 
Judiciary Committee pass out the nine additional district judges, one a 
circuit court judge nominee and eight district court nominees, and, in 
addition, to pass out two other top officials in the Bush 
administration and, of course, a number of U.S. Attorneys. I commend 
our chairman for doing that. I commend him for moving forward on these 
judges.
  We have come a long way from when the criticisms reached their 
height. We still have a long way to go because there are still 101 
vacancies in the Federal judiciary as I stand here today. Frankly, that 
is probably 101 too many. Be that as it may, we all know that we have 
to do something about them.
  As we prepare to recess, there is one startling fact that needs more 
attention. On May 9, President Bush nominated 11 outstanding attorneys 
to serve as Federal appellate court judges. To this date, nearly three 
quarters of those nominees are still pending in the Judiciary Committee 
without a hearing. Although all of these nominees received qualified or 
well-qualified ratings from the American Bar Association, only 3 of 
those first 11 nominees have had a hearing. At present, there are 30 
vacancies in the Federal courts of appeals. Some courts, such as the DC 
circuit, are functioning under a dramatically reduced capacity.
  President Bush has responded to the vacancy crisis in the appellate 
courts by nominating a total of 28 top-notch men and women to these 
posts, a number of circuit court nominees that is unprecedented in the 
first years of recent administrations. Yet the Judiciary Committee has 
managed to move just five appeals court judges from the committee to 
the Senate floor for a vote. Last year at this time we had 67 vacancies 
in the Federal judiciary. Since Senator Leahy has become chairman, the 
vacancy rate has never been below 100. I am concerned that this number 
will only continue to grow after Congress recesses next month.
  I urge my colleagues on the other side to use the remaining weeks of 
this session to hold hearings and votes on judicial nominees to combat 
the alarming vacancy rate.
  Having said that, I am pleased that the chairman did allow nine 
judges to pass out today. I hope he will continue to work in a 
bipartisan fashion with me to pass more out. I am proud to work with 
Senator Leahy. I certainly want to cooperate with him in every way I 
possibly can. I believe the other Republicans on the committee do as 
well.
  There is a lot of criticism that goes back and forth on judges. I 
have to say, it is difficult to be chairman of this committee. I 
sympathize with Senator Leahy on some of the difficulties he has had. I 
know there are people on his side who would just as soon not have any 
Bush judges go on through, as there were occasionally on our side. It 
is very difficult to meet some of the objections and to overcome them 
and to resolve some of the political problems that arise. We have to do 
it. We have to stand up and work with both sides to get the Federal 
courts as full as we possibly can so that justice can proceed, 
especially in the case of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia, the District Court of the District of Columbia as well, so 
that we can handle all of the terrorist issues that will come before 
that particular court.
  Having said all of that, I hope we can move ahead with John Walters; 
if there are any holds, that they will be removed; and if they won't 
remove them, I hope the majority leader will ignore the holds, bring 
this up for a battle on the floor, and then have a vote up or down and 
let the chips fall where they may.
  I believe Mr. Walters will be confirmed. I believe he must be 
confirmed. If we don't get him confirmed, I believe the rate of youth 
drug use will continue to rise. Frankly, we have had enough of that. We 
have to get a very tough policy going again on drugs, and that should 
include both the supply and demand sides.
  I will make sure that this new administration, under John Walters, 
will take care of the demand side as well as the supply side. If we 
pass S. 304 through the Senate on which Senator Leahy and I have worked 
so hard, I believe it will go to the House. I believe they will pass 
it, and it will go a long way toward resolving some of the really 
serious drug problems we have among our young people.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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