[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book II)]
[September 6, 2000]
[Pages 1763-1764]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Letter to Congressional Leaders on Legislation To Establish a National 
Drunk Driving Standard
September 6, 2000

Dear __________ :
    I am writing to convey my strong support for a critical public 
safety issue under consideration by the Conference Committee for the FY 
01 Transportation Appropriations bill. As you know, the Senate-passed 
Transportation Appropriations bill includes a provision sponsored by 
Senator Frank Lautenberg and supported 
by Senate Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby to help set a national impaired driving standard 
at .08 blood alcohol content (BAC). Currently, 18 states already have 
.08 BAC in place as the legal limit for drunk drivers, and I strongly 
support making this the

[[Page 1764]]

nationwide  standard. As the bill moves forward, I urge you to also 
address a number of other important issues that we have raised 
separately with the House and Senate versions of the bill.
    The final 1999 Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) assessment 
released today by Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney 
Slater shows that alcohol-related traffic 
fatalities are continuing to decline and have hit a record low. However, 
we are still losing over 15,700 American lives in alcohol-related 
crashes every year--one every 33 minutes. It is imperative that we do 
more to save lives and keep drunk drivers off our roads. Enacting a 
standard of .08 BAC across the country is the next logical step. Studies 
have shown that a nationwide limit of .08 BAC could save an estimated 
500 lives a year.
    That is why I strongly urge the Conference Committee to send me a 
final bill that includes this life-saving .08 BAC provision. The 
Congress missed an opportunity 2 years ago when conferencing the TEA-21 
bill to make a .08 BAC standard mandatory, despite strong bipartisan 
support. Since that time, we have lost over 30,000 more Americans to 
impaired drivers on our nation's roads. We cannot afford to wait any 
longer to save more lives.
    Along with the thousands of families that have lost loved ones to 
drunk drivers, I urge you to seize this opportunity to work with your 
colleagues on the Conference Committee and ensure this provision is in 
the final FY 01 Transportation Appropriations bill.
        Sincerely,

                                                      William J. Clinton

Note: Letters were sent to Ted Stevens, chairman, and Robert C. Byrd, 
ranking member, Senate Committee on Appropriations; and C.W. Bill Young, 
chairman, and David R. Obey, ranking member, House Committee on 
Appropriations. An original was not available for verification of the 
contents of this letter.