Paul Coverdell: “I commend all the Senators who have come to the floor and discussed the general premise that there should be a…”

“I commend all the Senators who have come to the floor and discussed the general premise that there should be a relationship between what officeholders say during the course of seeking the office and what they do once they achieve it. We talked about the fact that the administration talked about a tax reduction to the middle class and then raised taxes on them up to $500 billion. We have talked about this budget duplicity, which we just heard about here today. We talked about the issue of being for a balanced budget, but then coming foursquare against the balanced budget, an amendment to the Constitution that would do nothing more than allow the issue to go to the several States. Yet, there was fear even of letting that go to the people. I am going to mention one other, as we close out, because the administration has talked frequently about its concern over crime in our country. By anyone's observation today, you cannot separate crime from drugs. And if there is one thing laying at the foot of this administration, it is the fact that they altered dramatically the drug policies that governed from 1980 to 1992--that 12-year period that saw massive reduction in the use of drugs at all levels. Between 1979--to give some examples, Mr. President--and 1992, drug use was cut in half in America.…”