[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 19 (Monday, May 14, 2001)]
[Pages 726-729]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Announcing the Nomination of John P. Walters To Be Director of 
the Office of National Drug Control Policy

May 10, 2001

    The President. Thank you all so very much for being here. It's an 
honor to see so many Members of the United States Congress who are here. 
Thank you so very much for coming--and members from both political 
parties, members who are dedicated to joining with an administration 
which is dedicated to reducing drug abuse around America. Thank you for 
being here.
    I'm pleased that members of my Cabinet have joined us: the Attorney 
General of the United States, John Ashcroft; the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, Tommy Thompson. Thank you all for being here. Mr. 
Surgeon General, thank you for being here, as well, sir. We're honored 
to have you here.
    Also with us is John J. DiIulio, who is the Director of the Office 
of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. John is on the leading edge of 
encouraging faith-based programs to become energized to help people who 
need help. And John, thank you so much for being here, as well.
    I'm honored to be joined on stage by five Americans--well, six 
Americans--five Americans who won't speak--[laughter]--which is saying 
something for the first American I'm going to introduce, William J. 
Bennett--[laughter]--he was our Nation's first drug czar, former 
Secretary of Education, a fearless, fearless fighter against drug 
abuse--as well, as Joe A. Califano, who has a center on addiction and 
substance abuse at Columbia University, former Secretary of Health and 
Education and Welfare under President Jimmy Carter, as well, like Mr. 
Bennett, a fearless advocate for those of us who are

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dedicated to reducing drug abuse. Thank you both for being here.
    And we have three members from the community--antidrug community who 
have joined us. Arthur R. Dean is the chairman and CEO of the Community 
Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. Thank you so much for coming. I 
appreciate you being here. Jessica Hulsey is a member of the Drug-Free 
Communities Advisory Commission. Thank you, Jessica--and Henry Lozano, 
Californians for Drug-free Youth, a member of the DFCAC, a graduate from 
Teen Challenge.
    I'm pleased to announce that as of today the Federal Government is 
waging an all-out effort to reduce illegal drug use in America. And I'm 
proud to nominate John P. Walters as my Director of National Drug 
Control Policy, where he will serve as a valuable member of my Cabinet.
    Mr. Walters has had a distinguished career in Government. He served 
as the chief of staff to Bill Bennett and later served as Deputy 
Director and Acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy. John will bring tremendous skill, knowledge, and good judgment 
to this job. He's an articulate advocate, an able administrator, and a 
man of deep and reasoned convictions. He has repeatedly been called on 
to provide guidance to the United States Congress. John cares 
passionately about this issue, and he is the right person to lead 
America's antidrug efforts.
    Our effort rests on the firm belief that by focusing more of our 
Nation's attention, energy, resources, real progress will be made. From 
the early 1980s until the early 1990s, drug use amongst high school 
seniors was reduced every year. We had made tremendous strides in 
cutting drug use. This cannot be said today. We must do and we will do a 
better job.
    Fortunately today, we know more about what works in prevention and 
education, treatment and law enforcement. We will put this knowledge to 
use. But above all, our efforts rest on an unwavering commitment to stop 
drug use. Acceptance of drug use is simply not an option for this 
administration.
    Illegal drugs impose a staggering cost of more than $100 billion 
every year, principally from lost productivity. Yet this dollar figure 
does not capture the human tragedy of drug use: lost lives, educational 
and job opportunities unmet, families torn apart, health care costs, 
school dropout rates, and more. Drug use harms people of every economic 
class, but drug use is doing the most damage to the poor.
    John Jacob, former president of the National Urban League, has said 
that drugs are destroying more children and more families than poverty 
ever did. John Walters and I believe the only humane and compassionate 
response to drug use is a moral refusal to accept it. We emphatically 
disagree with those who favor drug legalization.
    Drug legalization would be a social catastrophe. Drug use and 
addiction would soar. Hospitals would be filled with many more drug 
emergency cases. Child abuse would increase. The cost of treatment and 
social welfare would rise. There would be more drug-related accidents at 
work and on the road. And legalizing drugs would completely undermine 
the message that drug use is wrong.
    A successful antidrug effort depends on a thoughtful and integrated 
approach. Mr. Walters understands this as well as anybody in America. 
During his career, he's worked to improve the effectiveness of drug 
education and prevention programs. He played a key role in ensuring a 
record commitment of resources to drug treatment and research in a 
previous administration. He helped ensure that the Federal Government 
did its part in source countries, on our borders, and on our streets.
    My administration will continue to work with nations to eradicate 
drugs at their source and enforce our borders to stop the flow of drugs 
into America. This will make working in close cooperation with Mexico a 
priority. It will make having strong relations in our hemisphere a 
priority, a priority which I will keep.
    However, the most effective way to reduce the supply of drugs in 
America is to reduce the demand for drugs in America. Therefore, this 
administration will focus unprecedented attention on the demand side of 
this problem. We recognize that the most important work to reduce drug 
use is done in America's living rooms and classrooms, in churches and

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synagogues and mosques, in the workplace, and in our neighborhoods.
    Families, schools, communities, and faith-based organizations shape 
the character of young people. They teach children right from wrong, 
respect for law, respect for others, and respect for themselves. They're 
indispensable, and my administration stands ready to assist them in 
every possible way.
    Joe Califano is the president of the National Center on Addiction 
and Substance Abuse and a man whose research has helped shape my 
thinking. Joe has said that teens of parents who eat, talk, pray, and 
play together are not likely to be lured into the world of drugs. A 
child who reaches age 21 without using illegal drugs is virtually 
certain never to do so. And children cite parents as the number one 
reason they don't use drugs. And so we'll energize the parents movement 
by creating a Parent Drug Corps, which will provide needed support to 
educate and train parents in effective drug prevention.
    We must increase funding for drug-free communities programs and for 
the drug-free workplace program. And within 30 days, Professor John 
DiIulio will compile a complete inventory of existing Federal antidrug 
partnerships with local faith-based and community groups and work with 
John Walters to strengthen those efforts.
    Despite every effort, however, some individuals will become addicted 
to drugs. There are around 5 million hardcore users of illegal drugs in 
America today. And while they represent one-third of the drug users, 
they consume two-thirds of all drugs. It is estimated that more than 
half of them are not receiving any treatment.
    I am, therefore, asking Secretary Tommy Thompson to conduct a State-
by-State inventory of treatment needs and capacity, and report back 
within 120 days on how to most effectively close the treatment gap in 
this country. In order to close that treatment gap, we'll provide $1.6 
billion over the next 5 years.
    We want to advance our understanding of drug abuse and addiction, so 
we're planning to significantly increase funding for the National 
Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and 
Alcoholism. We also recognize the benefits of coerced abstinence, and so 
we will support drug courts and drug testing for prisoners, 
probationers, and parolees.
    We know that inmates receiving drug treatment are 73 percent less 
likely to be re-arrested and 44 percent less likely to use drugs than 
those who receive no treatment at all. I'm, therefore, asking the 
Attorney General, John Ashcroft, to come up with a comprehensive plan 
within 120 days to ensure our Federal prisons are drug-free, to expand 
drug testing for probationers and parolees, and to strengthen our system 
of drug courts around the Nation.
    We must reduce drug use for one great moral reason: Over time, drugs 
rob men, women, and children of their dignity and of their character. 
Illegal drugs are the enemies of innocence and ambition and hope. They 
undermine people's commitment to their family and to their fellow 
citizens. My administration will send a clear and consistent message 
that drug use is dangerous and drug use is wrong.
    John Walters will lead that effort with firm resolve and a caring 
heart. He will do an exceptional job. I am proud to submit his name to 
the United States Senate, and I look forward to working with Members of 
the House and the Senate from both political parties to reduce drug use 
in America.
    I'm honored to welcome so many people who devote their lives to the 
well-being of others to the Rose Garden here in the White House. I want 
to God bless--thank you for your work and ask God's blessings on your 
work and this great Nation of ours.
    It's my honor to welcome John Walters.

[At this point, Director-designate Walters made brief remarks.]

    The President. Thank you all for coming.
      

Note: The President spoke at 9:57 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also 
included the remarks of Director-designate Walters.

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