HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ 1/HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ.iso/drugs/brown.comments

Text File | 1996-05-06 | 17.8 KB | 378 lines

Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs,alt.law-enforcement
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: New U.S. Director of Drug Control Policy - Clinton's Remarks
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1993 01:54:08 GMT

Here is a press release from the White House.

 Transcript of Remarks by President Clinton in Announcement
of Lee Brown as Director of Drug Control Policy
 To: National Desk
 Contact: White House Office of the Press Secretary, 202-456-2100

   WASHINGTON, April 28  -- Following is a transcript
of remarks by President Clinton in annoucing the appointment
of Lee Brown as director of Office of Drug Control Policy:

                           The Rose Garden
 12:30 P.M. EDT


     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, ladies and
gentlemen.  Please be seated.  I want to thank the members of the
Cabinet who are here and the members of the Congress who are here,
and express my apologies for the Attorney General who is with the
Congress.  And that's why some of them and why she is not here.

     I want to thank the representatives of law enforcement,
people who are involved in drug treatment and drug education, and
other citizens who are here with us today, as well as those who have
been working in the Office of Drug Policy who are here.

     It is a great pleasure and honor for me today to
announce the appointment of Lee Brown, the first police officer ever
to hold the job of Director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy.

     A few weeks ago I elevated this office to Cabinet-level
status because I believe drug abuse is as serious a problem as we
have in America and because I believe that this office cannot work
effectively on its own no matter how many people it might have.  The
real ability of this office to make a difference in the lives of the
American people is the ability to work with all the departments of
the national government and with others who care about this issue to
maximize our resources, to focus our efforts and to make sure we're
all working together.  Lee Brown shares that view, and I am proud
that he has agreed to join us in this administration.

     As Americans who care about our future, we can't let
drugs and drug-related crimes continue to ruin communities, threaten
our children even in schools and fill up our prisons with wrecked and
wasted lives.  We have to do a better job of preventing drug use and
treating those who seek treatment, and we must do more to protect
law-abiding citizens from those who victimize them in the pursuit of
drugs or profit from drugs.

     I'm committed to winning this struggle, as all Americans
are, and I'm convinced that there is no better American to lead this
effort than Lee Brown.  He's been the chief law enforcement officer
in Atlanta, in Houston and New York.  He's a policeman with a PhD in
criminology who brings to this tough job a truly extraordinary record
of innovation in crime reduction, and a sensitivity to the problems
of real people who want to walk home safe at night and who want to be
free of the problems that we're trying to combat.

     To reduce drug use and drug-related crimes we have to do
many things at the same time.  It has to start with community
policing, with more police at the local level, working with our
neighbors and the children and the friends to prevent crime and to
quickly punish criminals.  There must be better education and
prevention efforts starting at the earliest ages.  These work; I know
that.  And there must be treatment for those who want to get better.

     Dr. Brown knows a little something about community
policing.  It's nearly his invention.  He turned the Houston police
force into a model of community policing.  And for many serious
crimes the crime rate there dropped.  In New York he added thousands
of officers to foot patrols; men and women whom he empowered to solve
problems, not with the federal program but with a commitment to a
better life in a particular neighborhood.  And reports of serious
crime fell where that was done in New York.

     He's had the vision to seek conditions clearly and the
courage to change what doesn't work.  Most importantly, he gets
results.  And this is exactly what we need in the war against drugs.
     I pledge to him and to the American people an
exceptionally focused and carefully executed antidrug effort from the
national government.  At the heart of our efforts will be more funds
for local police officers.  More for treatment and more for
prevention.  We will continue to work with other nations who have
shown the political will to fight illegal drugs.  They will continue
to get our full support and our cooperation.

     But it's time we turned our attention home and built a
strategy to make the neighborhoods of America safer and more drug-
free.  We want to close the gap between those who want treatment and
available treatment.  Treating addiction is good urban policy and
good anticrime policy and good health policy.  We ask for a 10-
percent increase in treatment funds for 1994.  And we'll make drug
treatment an important part of the national health care plan that
will be presented to the Congress and the American people.  Our goal
is to work toward treatment on demand.

     I believe the parents of American want and deserve more
help in educating their children about drugs.  We can prevent drug
abuse.  School programs work.  Public service programs work.  But
they aren't miracles.  They require a commitment and a consistency
year in and year out.  We've asked for a 16-percent increase in drug
prevention funding.

     Finally, we're determined to put more police officers on
the street and to expand community policing.  It's a local program --
old-fashioned law enforcement, but it works.  It means less crime.  I
think it's time to go back to the basics.  I asked the Congress to
approve $200 million in the jobs stimulus package for community
policing.  And I proposed almost $600 million in policing and other
initiatives similar to that in 1994.

     The most basic responsibility of the government is to
protect the American people.  It's our sacred duty to do our best.  I
believe we have a good program.  It can be a great program if it can
come alive in America in every community in this country.  It's basic
-- more officers, more education, more treatment.  And with the
leadership of Lee Brown it promises to be effective.

     I look forward to working with him and with the other
members of our Cabinet and administration to meet and to master the
challenges ahead.

     Lee?  (Applause.)

     MR. BROWN:  Thank you, Mr. President.  Let me begin by
expressing my sincere appreciation to the President for the
confidence he has expressed in me by appointing me to the position of
the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.  I also
want to assure him that, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, I will
devote all of my effort and energy toward addressing the problem of
illegal drugs in this country.

     I come here today after spending most of my adult life
in local law enforcement.  It is from that vantage point that I know
firsthand the problems caused by illegal drugs in America.  I have
seen the despair brought about by drug abuse.  I've seen the misery
caused by illicit drugs.  I've even seen the deaths caused by illegal
drugs.

     The problem of drugs has destroyed individuals,
families, and indeed, entire communities.  The problem drains our
economy; strains our health care system; impacts our schools; reduces
productivity in the workplace; contributes to crime, violence and
fear; and diminishes the overall quality of life for our citizens.
It is a problem not only for our urban areas, but for our suburban
and rural areas as well.  It is a problem for the affluent as well as
for the poor.

     So I come here today with a firm, firm belief that
illegal drugs must be controlled in America.  I come here today with
a strong, strong commitment that illegal drugs can be reduced in
America.  It is to that end I look forward to joining this
administration and developing for the President and the American
people an effective national drug control strategy.

     I look forward to working with other members of the
Cabinet, the Congress, the various federal agencies that are involved
in this country's drug control effort.  I look forward to working
with state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, the
private sector, community organizations, religious leaders, the media
and others in designing an effective national drug control strategy.
     I look forward to working with our sister countries who
share our concern about the shipment of drugs into America.  It will
be my goal to develop a balanced, comprehensive approach to the drug
problem.  Our national strategy must include law enforcement, yes,
but also education and prevention and, equally important, treatment.
     Let me close by saying, Mr. President, that I know the
American people have both the spirit and determination to address
this problem.  I know we can make a difference.  I look forward to
joining you in providing the leadership to this very important
undertaking.

     Thank you, Mr. President.  (Applause.)

     Q  Mr. President, you talked about the need to --
resources to education and treatment from some of the law enforcement
efforts.  Why then did you pick someone with a background in law
enforcement?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Because I don't think it's an either-or
thing.  I think having the right kind of community-based education
and treatment programs, if they work, also requires having the right
kind of community law enforcement strategy.  One of the things that I
have learned in the many years I served as Attorney General and
Governor and talking to other people who have been involved in that,
is that if you do it right, all these things go hand in hand.

     I wish the Attorney General were here today to talk
about the drug courts she started in Miami and what the relationship
of law enforcement there is to integrating a treatment and education
program.

     That's why I wanted someone who had a background in law
enforcement and credibility on that issue, but who believed in
innovation and education and treatment to do this job.  I wanted
someone who could put together a policy that makes sense.  If you try
to pick one or the other, you're never going to get the job done.

     Wolf.

     Q  Mr. President, you met last night with a bipartisan
group of congressional leaders on the situation in Bosnia.  And by
all accounts, they seem to have given you some conflicting advice.
Many of them appear to be more moved by the lessons of Vietnam than
they are by the Holocaust.  Did you emerge from that session more
confused about what the United States should do as far as the
situation in Bosnia is concerned?

     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I didn't.  I still believe the
United States has to strengthen its response.  But the meeting was
helpful because of the practical issues which were raised and the
specific suggestions I got from people, many of whom have different
views.  But some who were there last night are here today, they can
make their own comments.  But I think it was a very helpful meeting
and there were a lot of very specific things that came out of that
and that I think will come out of our consultations over the next
couple of days.


     Q  Do you feel that you can continue, though, to
consider military options now that so many members of Congress have
strongly expressed their objections?  Would you proceed if you felt
it was still the right thing to do and if you had allied support?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I will decide what I think the
right thing to do is and then see if I can persuade the Congress and
the allies to go along.  Right now, what I want to do is hear what
they think the right thing to do is and then the people with whom I
consulted last night were good enough to tell me and we agreed that
they would set in motion a process to go back to their committees and
try to solicit some more views.

     Q  Mr. President, is it accurate --

     Q     plan to continue with the policy of hot pursuit
like in the Machain case, or how are you going to deal with cases
like that?  Are you going to come to other countries and kidnap or to
bring to justice in this country a person suspected of a crime in a
drug situation, like in the Machain case?  How are you going to deal
with that situation?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I'm not sure I heard you -- the plane
flew over.  But you asked about the abduction out of Mexico?  Is that
what you asked about?

     Q  That's right -- if you are going to continue with
that type of policy.

     THE PRESIDENT:  I think I've made my position clear on
that.  I don't think that -- I think the present ruling of law is too
broad there.  I don't believe that the United States should be
involved in that unless there is a clear and deliberate attempt by a
government in another country to undermine extradition or undermine
the enforcement of its own laws and our laws on that.  And I think
that -- so that's been my position for months and months; I haven't
changed that.

     Q  Mr. President, do you expect to get bipartisan
support from Congress for the money you're going to need?  The two
predecessors of Mr. Brown accomplished certain things, but not much.
How will you make sure that Mr. Brown has the money to accomplish --

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think there will be bipartisan
support.  Keep in mind this is partly a money problem and partly a
resource problem.  We're going to try to do some different things and
attract people who have thought about this issue.  I don't think this
is a Republican or a Democratic issue.  There's hardly a family in
America that hasn't been touched directly or indirectly by this
problem.  So I feel very hopeful about it.

     Q     in the budget, sir?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we recommended more funds in the
budget, and it's very critical to the whole health reform area.  I
mean, a big part of our strategy in this is embodied in the proposals
we'll make on health care to deal with the whole treatment issue.

     Q  When do you think you will have a decision -- do
you have Yeltsin on board now to do more?  And do you think the
American people will support a military -- use of military force?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you asked me three questions.  I
think there will be a decision soon.  We are working very hard on it.
There are a lot of very practical questions that have to be asked and
answered.  As you know, it is a very difficult matter.

     I believe that when we do make a decision, we will be,
as we have been all along, consulting with our allies in the United
Nations.  And I think there is a fair chance that we'll be able to
get the U.N. to go along with what we decide to do if we have some
consultations as we go along, as we have.

     I think President Yeltsin -- I don't know what he would
say.  It depends in part, obviously, on what we recommend.  But I'll
tell you this:  I've been very pleased by the positions that he has
taken both publicly and privately recently.  And even in the midst of
his own election, when it might have hurt him politically, Russia did
not veto our attempts to get much tougher sanctions.  And I think
he's been pretty clear since the election that he's not at all happy
about the continuation of Serbian aggression and the refusal to
negotiate in good faith and try to settle this war and stop the
ethnic cleansing.  So I feel pretty good about that.

     Q  Mr. President, how are you going to tell the
American people --

     Q  Mr. President, a former drug czar, Bill Bennett,
said today that you have gutted the office by cutting it down,
cutting the personnel.  How do you answer that?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, my answer to that -- maybe I
should refer you to Congressman Rangel.  I spoke with him when we
were trying to figure out what to do about this budget.  And what I
perceived happened in that office before is that it was a large
office that operated basically separate from the rest of the
government.  It has no legal authority to compel the behavior of any
law enforcement officials, and it obviously has no legal authority
over all the state and local people and the nonprofit people who are
involved in drug education and treatment.  So the real issue is
whether it has the mechanisms necessary to pull all the levers in the
federal government and pull people together.

     And I think by putting the office in the Cabinet, by
coordinating all of our national policies throughout the federal
government, and by having a staff that can support that function it's
much more likely that we're going to be effective.

     And I also would tell you that I believe in rhetoric in
the war against drugs.  I know that works.  I think the education
programs work, the prevention programs work, but it needs to be more
than rhetoric.  And I think it will also be perceived that I have
appointed the most experienced person with the best record and the
least political person who ever held this job.  And I think that will
count for something, too, with the Republicans and the Democrats.
(Applause.)

                                * * *

     Q  Where's Chelsea?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we discussed it this morning and
she said, you know, it's easier for me -- you work where you live.  I
know what it's like.  She said, I missed a lot of school last month
so I'm going to school.

     Q  Would she have gone to work with you or Hillary?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Actually, she thought it was just for
mothers to take their daughters.  I said, no, no, fathers can, too.
She said, well, you both work where you live.  I'm going to school.
(Laughter.)  But she's spent some time with us over here.

     Q  Have you firmly decided not to delay health care
because it might risk your budget proposal, sir?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I think what we're talking about is not
a risk.

     Thank you very much.

                                 END     12:50 P.M. EDT
 -0-




--
Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]