[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

[[Page 510]]

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

[[Page 511]]

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.