[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[March 28, 1991]
[Pages 315-317]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Swearing-In Ceremony for Bob Martinez as Director of the 
Office of National Drug Control Policy
March 28, 1991

    The President. Please be seated. Well, first, Monsignor, thank you, 
sir, for that lovely invocation. And to Jim Smith, a longtime friend and 
secretary of state of Florida, welcome back to Washington. I'm delighted 
to see so many members of our Cabinet here with us today. And I think 
that says that all Cabinet Departments want to help Bob Martinez in this 
fight against drugs. And I'm delighted that they're here, and we pledge 
you our full support.
    I'm delighted to see Bill Young, who has the onerous responsibility 
of representing that enormous Florida delegation. But it's most 
appropriate that he, a big supporter of the Governor's and of mine, be 
with us today in that capacity.
    I want to welcome the executive directors of the several major State 
and local organizations: Don Borut of the National League of Cities, 
John Thomas of the National Association of Counties, and Ray Scheppach 
of the National Governors' Association.
    And most of all, of course, a great pleasure to welcome to 
Washington Mary Jane--Mary Jane Martinez--Alan, his son, and also so 
many friends that are up here from Florida and elsewhere. I don't know 
who's looking after the State, but I'm delighted you all are here--
[laughter]--on this beautiful day in the Rose Garden.
    Bob brings to this important job, Director of National Drug Control 
Policy, a resolute personal commitment and unmatched experience in the 
field. Our 50 States are the labs, the laboratories of democracy, and 
Bob brings an impressive arsenal of some of the Nation's most innovative 
and wide-ranging antidrug programs. As Governor of Florida, he led a 
State that was among the hardest hit by drug smuggling, drug crime, and 
drug use. And he responded to that challenge the same way he'll respond 
to this new, even bigger challenge: with vigor and intelligence and a 
program comprehensive enough to attack the drug culture.
    Bob Martinez already has contributed mightily to the National Drug 
Control Strategy. As the National Governors' Associa-

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tion's lead Governor on the drug issue, he personally developed a number 
of proposals regarding law enforcement, drug treatment, prevention, and 
international cooperation. These initiatives have greatly strengthened 
our long-range prospects for stopping the scourge of drugs.
    In the fight against drugs, every level of government must work 
together. And no one is better equipped than Bob Martinez to get local, 
State, Federal authorities working together. He served long and well 
with the Nation's Governors. But he also has a long record of working 
with the city leaders. Twice elected mayor of Tampa, he served on the 
board of the National League of Cities, and he participated actively in 
the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
    Bob also had the kind of international experience that's required 
for this new job. He's traveled to South America to meet with our Andean 
friends, the leaders of the Andean countries, in support of inter-
American responses to the drug crisis. Our initiatives in the Andes and 
around the globe are of paramount importance, and Bob's experience will 
be a tremendous advantage right there as well.
    As a teacher and as a businessman and as a parent, Bob Martinez 
understands that we cannot defeat drugs through law enforcement alone. 
Any long-term solution also depends on successful education and 
treatment. And that means drug-free schools, a drug-free work place, and 
drug-free kids.
    During my service as Vice President, I was head of the National 
Narcotics Border Interdiction System, and there I worked very closely 
with Bob Martinez--personally and directly. And we're going to continue 
to work together personally and directly in this new assignment of his. 
As you can tell by this audience out here today, our administration is 
committed to Governor Martinez' success.
    I'm going to ask all members of the Cabinet and their Departments to 
continue to give his Office every measure of help and coordination. Bob 
will be asking for your advice. He'll be asking for your help. And he'll 
have my support every single step of the way.
    I think this is a proud day for America. Bob Martinez is the 
grandson of Spanish immigrants, the son of a waiter, a man who worked 
his way through school. My predecessor called him the embodiment of the 
American dream.
    And so, sir, as you assume command of our national drug fight at 
this critical time, we've made important new progress, good solid 
progress. Cocaine use has fallen. Hospitals report fewer drug-related 
emergencies. Fewer high school students abuse drugs. And the evidence 
shows clearly that we've turned in the right direction. But we still 
have a long way to go, and the drug menace remains intolerably large. 
And it cripples families, destroys kids, wipes out entire communities.
    Our administration has announced ambitious new goals for the drug 
war, backed by ambitious new proposals and an ambitious new budget. And 
we've renewed our call for Congress to pass a true crime bill. And I'm 
asking Bob Martinez to fight for those goals and programs with all his 
heart, knowing that he already has committed his heart and soul to this 
crucial battle. I'm asking Bob Martinez to lead America further away 
from drugs, knowing that he is determined to do so. This is a top 
priority. And Governor Bob Martinez is the right man, the best man for 
this job. I'm proud to welcome him to the White House.
    And let's face it, many challenges lie ahead. And the American 
people stand ready to face them. We will remain on the front lines, 
block by block, day by day, school by school, in homes, in hospitals, in 
treatment centers, and in courtrooms. For your kids, for mine, for 
America's kids, we will overcome the scourge of drugs.
    And now, Governor Martinez, over to you.

[At this point, Director Martinez was sworn in.]

    The Director. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much.
    First, Mr. President, let me thank you for having nominated me for 
this position, and thank you and your staff for the tremendous work that 
was done through the whole nomination process. I also want to thank 
secretary of state Jim Smith for taking the time to be here today to 
kind of keep the

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program going for us. And of course, to Monsignor Higgins, who has been 
at each of my swearing-ins for the last 12 years, and I appreciate him 
making this trip to be here. And of course, to Justice Scalia for taking 
time from his busy schedule, for being here today to give me the oath of 
office. And to all of you who took time to travel long distance.
    And to all my, now, colleagues in the President's Cabinet and all of 
your agencies that I'll be working with, I look forward to the 
opportunity to get to know you real well. And many, I've had that 
opportunity as Governor to work with you--some more than others. But the 
one thing I have found in my short time here is the tremendous interest 
that all of you have on the subject--and those of you that have various 
agencies that are involved in the war against drugs, the enthusiasm and 
professionalism that they show.
    Like the President indicated, we have made tremendous gains over the 
last several years. But there still is a rather large population that we 
still have to deal with. And we mustn't forget that there's a constant 
renewal of our population, that the young people must forever be 
educated--that we can't simply say we've got a good education initiative 
for the current set of youngsters, but we will continue to have a 
current set of youngsters every year that we must continue to address. 
And therefore, if we fail to do that, we will have large treatment needs 
because we failed at the front end to provide that opportunity of 
letting them know what drug abuse is all about.
    And of course, there is a supply side, offshore and domestic, and 
the tremendous work that must be done there. And it has been done and 
will continue to be done and are often--sometimes I kind of regret that 
we divided this in the supply and demand because I kind of see it as one 
ball game--that a good effective supply system makes demand efforts a 
lot easier.
    If a youngster gets the message in school and can walk across the 
street and there isn't a pusher because supply has taken care of that, 
then that message is going to stick. And, therefore, I hope that as we 
go in time that this can be taken to the Nation, that this is an 
integrated initiative. It's not a compartmentalized type of activity--of 
education, prevention, treatment, offshore, domestic--and each operates 
separately.
    So, I hope that, in time, that we'll be able to show that this truly 
is a national strategy involving all national groups, local, and State. 
And I'm delighted to hear that mayor groups and city groups and country 
groups and the Governors' Association is here because it is to be 
implemented in a manner that truly brings in all levels of government. 
And having been mayor and Governor, I kind of have heard from time to 
time what some of the difficulties are. And I hope to be able to work on 
those issues.
    So, Mr. President, thank you. And on behalf of the people of this 
nation, I also want to thank you for the budget recommendation that 
you've made that clearly shows that when you speak out against drugs, 
it's more than words. What follows are the resources to get the work 
done. And I hope that I'll be able to work with you each year to be sure 
that your dollars that you've recommended bring the results that all 
Americans want.
    Thank you very much, and I really appreciate it.

                    Note: The President spoke at 9:48 a.m. in the Rose 
                        Garden at the White House. In his remarks, the 
                        President referred to Msgr. Lawrence Higgins of 
                        St. Lawrence Church in Tampa, FL; Jim Smith, 
                        Florida secretary of state; Representative C.W. 
                        Bill Young; executive directors Donald J. Borut 
                        of the National League of Cities, John Thomas of 
                        the National Association of Counties, and 
                        Raymond Scheppach of the National Governors' 
                        Association; and Director Martinez' wife, Mary 
                        Jane, and son, Alan. Director Martinez referred 
                        to Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the 
                        Supreme Court of the United States.