[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[May 10, 2001]
[Pages 509-511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks to the Vienna-Madison Community Anti-Drug Coalition in Vienna,
Virginia
May 10, 2001
Thank you so very much for that gracious welcome. It's my honor to
be here with my newly designated Director of the National Drug Policy,
and that is John Walters.
I appreciate so very much General Arthur Dean for being here, as well. He's the chairman and CEO of the
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. I want to thank Clarence
Jones, who is the coordinator of Safe and
Drug-Free Youth Section of the Fairfax County Public School System.
Thank you very much. And Diane Eckert, program
specialist in Safe and Drug-Free Youth Section of the Fairfax County
Schools, thank you, Diane. And thank you for the tour.
It's also a great pleasure to be here with the Congressman from this
district, Tom Davis. Thank you very much for being
here, Tom. And the mayor of Vienna, Virginia--thank you, Madam
Mayor, for coming. I appreciate you being
here. I know we have members of the House of Delegates here from the
State of Virginia. Thank you for coming. The Speaker is here. I appreciate you for being here, Mr. Speaker.
It is my honor to tour this center. And the reason I'm here is
because today I talked about a goal of my administration and a goal of
this Nation, and that is to wage a war on drug abuse in America, a
serious effort. In my speech, when I introduced John to the Nation, I
talked about the need for us to continue serious efforts of
interdiction, to work with neighbors to the south of ourselves, to make
sure that we interrupt the supply of drugs coming into America.
One of the things I'm proud of is my close relations with Vicente
Fox, the President of Mexico. The President of
Mexico has pledged to work with us to do a good job of stopping the flow
of drugs across our borders. We're very much involved in the--Colombia,
in the Andes, trying to eradicate coca leaves before they're
manufactured into cocaine. So we'll continue to do the best we can to
interdict supplies.
But the best ways to affect supply is to reduce demand for drugs.
The best way to impact supply of drugs coming into America is to
convince our fellow citizens not to use drugs in the first place.
This is a national problem, but our administration believes the
solution is found at the local level, through community coalitions where
people of good faith and good heart come together, people from all walks
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of life and the communities around America come together with the
dedicated proposition that through hard work and love, we can convince
kids not to use drugs.
So we've come to this center because it is a part of a coalition
that makes a big difference in the lives of people this part of
Virginia. There are people who have said, ``What can we do to make our
community a better place?'' And they formed a coalition; 22 groups have
come together. And it's making a big difference. It's a tangible
difference.
One of the things Diane and I talked about
is, we want to be a results-oriented world. We want to be measurable.
And this coalition is successful because it's not afraid to say,
``Measure us. Let us prove to you that we do a good job.'' And a good
job is being done. And for that, all of us say thanks to the folks who
are involved in these efforts.
And the Federal Government can help. And so one of the announcements
I made today was that over the next 5 years we'll double the amount of
money for drug-free communities programs around America. It is necessary
funding. It's a part of achieving the goal of reducing the demand for
drugs in America.
Again, it also recognizes that the most effective policy really does
start at the local level. The most local of all levels, by the way, is
in somebody's home, where a mom or dad works with the children to help
them make the right decisions, or in schools, where schools are willing
to teach character education, willing to not only teach a child to read
and write but also the difference between right and wrong. It comes when
role models stand up and clearly say, ``Drugs will destroy your life.
Don't use drugs.''
There's another initiative that we announced today that I think
makes a lot of sense, and that is, we want to set up a Parent Drug Corps
all around America. It is the use of Federal dollars to help local folks
develop curriculum to teach parents in all communities across America
how to deal with reduction of demand of drugs--what to say, how to say
it, kind of a best practices effort. And we're determined to get the
Congress to fund this new concept about involving parents more actively
in the communities in which we live.
And finally, the third initiative I talked about today was, how do
we make sure that people get treatment in America? We've got to make
sure that those who are hooked on drugs are treated, and that's why I'm
asking Congress to spend 1.6 billion additional dollars for treatment
over the next 5 years. It is so important. I think an amazing statistic
is that a third of the drug users consume two-thirds of the drugs. We've
got people that know no other life than drugs. And a compassionate
society is one that does something about drug--people who are addicted.
And we're going to do so.
I believe strongly that many of the best drug programs are those
founded upon faith, that they exist because people understand that if
you change a person's heart, you can change their life. If a person's
heart becomes changed, they themselves begin to make the right,
necessary choices, make the tough choice of kicking the drug habit. A
Government should never fund religion, but Government should welcome and
energize faith-based programs which exist to help people kick drugs.
Ours is a strategy based upon common sense. But in order to make it
work, it's going to be a strategy that is tenacious, that recognizes
that this isn't about giving speeches. It is about an administration
that's willing to follow through and to stay focused. And my pledge to
the American people is--because I understand what a drug-free America
can mean for our future and for the hopes and concerns of citizens from
all walks of life--that this isn't a one-day event for the Bush
administration. This is a high priority. The idea of substantially
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reducing drug abuse in America is a priority of mine today, and it will
be a priority of mine so long as I'm fortunate enough to hold this high
office.
I have picked a good man in John Walters
to lead this effort. He's got a lot of experience. He understands the
need to reduce demand. He understands the intricacies of interdicting
supplies that come into the country. He has been in this office before,
working with Bill Bennett. But like me, he is tenacious and focused.
Like me, he is dedicated to the single proposition of reducing demand in
America. And I look forward to working with John. John's going to find
that with this President, when called upon, I'll act. If he says this is
a program that needs a boost or a thank, I'll be there, giving a boost
or giving the appropriate thanks.
We're here to give thanks to the folks at this program and in this
center. So on behalf of the American people and the people of this
community, thank you for your hard work, for your love and for your
compassion, for your deep concerns about the youth of this country. And
thank you all for being here and giving me such a warm welcome.
God bless, and God bless America.
Note: The President spoke at 3:30 p.m. in the Vienna Community Center.
In his remarks, he referred to Mayor M. Jane Seeman of Vienna; Speaker
Vance Wilkins, Jr., Virginia House of Delegates; and author William J.
Bennett, former Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy. The
Vienna-Madison Community Coalition was one of 22 Community Anti-Drug
Coalition of America chapters in the Fairfax County Public Schools--Safe
and Drug-Free Youth Section.