[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[October 19, 1996]
[Pages 1867-1868]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1867]]


The President's Radio Address
October 19, 1996

    Good morning. Today I want to talk to you about how we can demand 
responsibility from all our young people by taking firm steps to stop 
teens from driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
    My vision is of an America where we offer opportunity to all, demand 
responsibility from all, and build a stronger community where everyone 
has a place. That's America's basic bargain. That's how we will keep our 
young people safe and give them the futures they deserve.
    We've done a lot to expand opportunity for our young people: 
reducing the cost of college loans and improving the terms for 
repayment, expanding scholarships to college, creating millions of new 
jobs. We've preserved the summer jobs program and created AmeriCorps, 
which gives young people the opportunity to serve in their communities 
and earn money for college. I want to do more.
    Our balanced budget plan can make 2 years of college after high 
school as universal as a high school diploma is today by giving people a 
deduction on their taxes, dollar for dollar, for the cost of the typical 
community college tuition. We offer a deduction of up to $10,000 a year 
for any college tuition and permit families to save in an IRA and then 
withdraw from it, tax-free, to pay for education for their children.
    But we must demand the responsibility of our young people as well. 
Our responsibility is to teach them right from wrong and then to expect 
them to act accordingly. So in our welfare reform efforts, we've 
required teen mothers to live at home and stay in school or lose their 
welfare benefits. We went to court to support those communities that 
have decided to require drug testing for high school athletes. We've 
imposed a zero tolerance policy for guns in schools. We're taking on 
teen smoking and trying to stop tobacco companies from advertising and 
marketing cigarettes to our young people. We've encouraged communities 
to enforce their truancy laws and to adopt new programs like school 
uniform policies and to impose community curfews. We supported character 
education programs and drug-free school programs for children in our 
schools all across America. These are all ways for parents and teachers 
and law enforcement people to set rules, maintain order and discipline, 
and make schools places of learning, not violence and destruction.
    Today we're taking another step. Too many teens pose a threat to 
themselves and others by drinking and driving. Just last year, 2,200 
young people between the ages of 15 and 20 died in alcohol-related car 
crashes. Thanks especially to the leadership of groups like Mothers 
Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drunk Driving, America has 
made real progress in reducing teen drunk driving over the last decade.
    But there's more to do. We have pushed for a policy of zero 
tolerance for teen drinking and driving. If you're under 21 and you 
drink, you can't drive, period. Last year, when fewer than half the 
States had zero tolerance laws, I called on Congress to enact 
legislation making it the law of the land. Congress acted. Since then, 
13 more States have adopted these strict rules.
    Now we're taking final action to demand responsibility from teens in 
all 50 States. Today I am pleased to announce that we're issuing a new 
rule. Every State must pass a law making it illegal for anyone under 21 
to drive with alcohol in their blood. If they're caught, their driver's 
licenses must be suspended. Under the new law passed by Congress, States 
that do not put this into effect will lose some of their Federal highway 
funds.
    Now we should take the next step to increase responsibility among 
teenagers. Drug use is down all across America, but unfortunately, it is 
still rising among young people. That's why I have fought to expand the 
safe and drug-free schools program, to get more people out there, like 
D.A.R.E. officers, telling our children that drugs are wrong and drugs 
can kill you. That's why we're requiring parolees to pass a drug test or 
go back to jail. If they want to stay out of jail, they must stay off 
drugs.
    I believe we should use the privilege of a driver's license to 
demand responsible behavior by young people when it comes to drugs, too. 
We're already saying to teens, if you drink, you aren't allowed to 
drive. Now we should say that teens should pass a drug test as a 
condition

[[Page 1868]]

of getting a driver's license. Our message should be simple: no drugs or 
no driver's license.
    Today I am directing General Barry McCaffrey, the Director of our 
drug office, and Secretary Federico Pena, the Secretary of 
Transportation, to report back to me within 90 days with a plan for how 
to do this, including legislation if appropriate, and other ways to 
fight the problem of teen drug use and driving.
    Let me make one thing clear: Even though teen drug use is up, all 
the evidence is that 90 percent of our children are drug-free. They are 
doing the right thing. They are not experimenting. So we're asking them, 
the 90 percent who are drug-free, to be responsible enough to 
participate in this drug-testing program to help us identify the 10 
percent who are on the brink of getting in trouble and get them away 
from drugs before it's too late.
    Our goal must be to help parents pass on their values to their 
children, to help their children to act responsibly, to take charge of 
their lives and their futures. If we offer our children more opportunity 
and demand of them more responsibility, America's best days are ahead.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 2:52 p.m. on October 18 in the 
Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 
19.