    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 28, 1996]
    [Pages 519-521]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing the ``One Strike and You're Out'' Initiative in
    Public Housing
    March 28, 1996

        Thank you. You know, when we were walking over here, Leora said she
    was nervous. I don't think she told the truth. [Laughter] I'm just glad
    she's not on the ballot this year. [Laughter] Didn't she do a great? I
    want to thank Leora Robinson and Lieutenant Ramirez. They both spoke so
    well and so passionately, and they spoke the truth. They spoke on behalf
    of the mayors, the police chiefs, the housing administrators, and the
    residents who are here and people all across America. And I thank them.
        I thank the Members of Congress who are here; and Mr. McGaw, the
    head of the ATF; and my friends the mayors who are here, and
    especially--I know the mayor of Toledo is a proud mayor today, hearing
    these two fine people speak. I thank the Vice President for the work
    that he has done in our whole community empowerment initiative, trying
    to give people all over America control of their lives again. And I want
    to echo what the Vice President said; it is literally an inspiration for
    me to have the opportunity to work with Henry Cisneros, a man who
    believes that all problems can be solved and goes about proving it day-
    in and day-out. I thank you, sir, for what you have done.
        In my State of the Union Address I challenged local housing
    authorities and tenant associations to adopt this ``one strike and
    you're out'' policy to restore the rule of law to public housing, to
    simply say, ``If you mess up your community, you have to turn in your
    key. If you insist on abusing or intimidating or hurting other people,
    you'll have to live somewhere else.''
        It seems so simple, it's hard to imagine how we ever went so wrong.
    Public housing was created with a simple purpose in mind, to provide
    good, inexpensive homes for good, hard-working people, so they could
    care for their children, hold down their jobs, and eventually save
    enough, if they chose, to move into homes of their own. Public housing
    has never been a right; it has always been a privilege. And it is
    amazing how far some people in some places have strayed from that
    original mission.
        I think it is worth saying today again, even though you have just
    seen evidence of it, most people who live in public housing work. Most
    people who live in public housing are doing their very best to be good
    parents. Most people who live in public housing deserve a better deal
    than they have gotten in the past from the kinds of things that have
    gone on. And we are determined to help the people all across this
    country change that so that everybody will be able to tell the story
    that Leora and Lieutenant Ramirez told today.
        The only people who deserve to live in public housing are those who
    live responsibly there and those who honor the rule of law. We've worked
    hard to protect public housing residents with Operation Safe Home and
    public housing drug elimination programs. We've made 6,800 arrests,
    seized hundreds of weapons, confiscated $3 million worth of illegal
    drugs. And coupled with our other anticrime initiatives, we're help-

    [[Page 520]]

    ing to restore order in our cities, to our one-stoplight towns, and in
    our public housing. But we know we have to do more.
        This policy today is a clear signal to drug dealers and to gangs: If
    you break the law, you no longer have a home in public housing, ``one
    strike and you're out.'' That should be the law everywhere in America.
        To implement this rule, we are taking two steps. First, I will
    direct Secretary Cisneros to issue guidelines to public housing and law
    enforcement officials to spell out with unmistakable clarity how to
    enforce ``one strike and you're out.'' These guidelines are essential.
        Believe it or not, the Federal law has actually authorized ``one
    strike'' eviction since 1988. But many public housing authorities have
    not fully understood the scope of their legal authority. Others have
    problems working with residents or local police or the courts. And for a
    small number, enforcement has frankly not been a priority. For whatever
    reason, the sad fact is that in most places in this country, ``one
    strike'' has not been carried out. You see the consequences when it is
    in what these fine people have said today.
        Now there will be no more excuses, for these national guidelines
    tell public housing authorities the steps they must take to evict drug
    dealers and other criminals. They explain how housing authorities must
    work with tenants, with the police, with the courts, with our Government
    to get the job done. They also tell housing authorities how to screen
    tenants for criminal records. With effective screening, many of the bad
    people we're trying hard to remove today won't get into public housing
    in the first place.
        The second thing we're going to do is to make sure these guidelines
    don't sit around and gather dust. Under the new rules HUD will propose,
    for the first time there will actually be penalties for housing projects
    that do not fight crime and enforce ``one strike and you're out.''
    Superior housing authorities that live up to their responsibilities will
    improve their chances for increased funding and for greater flexibility
    in how the housing authority is run by the local people. Those that
    don't will face increased supervision and might lose out on extra
    financial help.
        I know that for some, ``one strike and you're out'' sounds like
    hardball. Well, it is. It is because it's morally wrong for criminals to
    use up homes that could make a big difference in the lives of decent
    families. And as Leora said better than I could have, if people aren't
    going to do anything wrong in public housing, they have nothing to fear
    from ``one strike and you're out.''
        After all, it's not as if nobody wants to live there. There are
    three people in line for every one person who has a slot in public
    housing. In many places, the waiting list today is up to 4 years. This
    is a privilege, not a right. The people who are living there deserve to
    be protected, and the good people who want to live in public housing
    deserve to have a chance. The people who are in the middle, doing the
    wrong thing, must be removed.
        There is no reason in the world to put the rights of a criminal
    before those of a child who wants to grow up safe or a parent who wants
    to raise that child in an environment where the child is safe, in no
    danger of being shot down in a gang war, and can't be stolen away by
    drug addiction.
        We know this policy works. Beyond Toledo, we know that in North
    Carolina at the Greensboro Housing Authority, where this policy has been
    implemented, crime is down 55 percent. We know that in Georgia at the
    Macon Housing Authority, drug-related arrests have fallen 91 percent
    since the policy was implemented in 1989. In both of those cities and in
    other cities all across the country where ``one strike'' has been
    implemented, one statistic is rising, the number of residents who feel
    safe.
        We also know why ``one strike'' works, because for it to work,
    people have to join together in common cause. The Leora Robinsons have
    to support the Lieutenant Ramirezes. People have to work together to
    believe that they can recreate a community. When we tell you how to
    evict a drug dealer, therefore, you have to take the action. The
    guidelines only point the way. We'll make sure that our police have the
    tools they need to get crime out of public housing. But the residents,
    the administrators, the neighbors, the people that know that they can
    recreate a sense of community and security and a decent environment for
    children, they have to support the police in taking that action.
        We can work for better housing in Washington, but only you, those of
    you who are here and your counterparts all across America, can make
    better housing and safer housing a reality where you live.

    [[Page 521]]

        For too many years, the chaos in some of our public housing units
    has been a national blind spot and a national disgrace. Most Americans
    probably think it has to be that way. Many of them who had had no
    personal experience with tenants may even believe most people who live
    in public housing are lawless, are not working, are not concerned
    parents. All of that is wrong.
        Now we are going to give the good, decent, law-abiding citizens in
    public housing the life they deserve, and we're going to give the kids
    the future they deserve by doing what we should have been doing all
    along, and doing it together.
        I want every American to believe that if he or she works hard and
    plays by the rules, they can share in the American dream. I want every
    parent to believe that if he or she works hard, they can do a better job
    raising their kids in a country that's supporting them, not undermining
    them. I want this country to come together across the lines of income
    and race, not be divided. Surely, our dreams of opportunity and decent
    childhoods and strong families and unity in this country can be
    furthered by what we're doing here today. And surely, others will see
    this and say that they have to do the same.
        I want to now sign this Executive order, and I'd like to invite the
    people who are here from Greensboro and from Macon to come up as well:
    Deborah Shaw and Deputy Chief David Williams from the Greensboro Housing
    Authority, and Joann Fowler and Sergeant Richard Kory of the Macon
    Housing Authority. And I'd like to ask Lieutenant Ramirez and Leora to
    come up here and also be here when we sign.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:32 a.m. in Room 450 of the Old Executive
    Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to Leora Robinson, resident
    of Ravine Park Village, Toledo, OH; and Lt. Frank Ramirez of the Toledo
    Police Department. Following his remarks, the President signed a
    memorandum for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on the
    ``One Strike and You're Out'' guidelines.