[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 19 (Monday, May 14, 2001)]
[Pages 729-730]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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

[[Page 730]]

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 
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 is one of 22 Community Anti-Drug 
Coalition of America chapters in the Fairfax County Public Schools--Safe 
and Drug-Free Youth Section.