[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.