Paul Coverdell: “Mr. President, a moment ago I was talking about this drug epidemic. There can be no doubt but that we had a change in…”

“Mr. President, a moment ago I was talking about this drug epidemic. There can be no doubt but that we had a change in policies that occurred when this administration took office. And we have had a resulting change in behavior. If you start shutting the drug war down, I think you can expect to see a reversal and we will find more and more young people caught up in this tragic problem and then society caught up in their problems. This administration has, as we just heard, vulnerability and accountability that it has to accept with regard to the condition of crime in the country today. This administration has touted signing the assault weapon ban and Brady bill as evidence that they got tough on guns. This has been the effect: Federal gun prosecutions are down 20 percent. Federal gun convictions are down 13 percent. The U.S. attorneys' program to target gun crimes and to report on gun prosecutions, Operation Triggerlock, which the Senator from Mississippi talked about a moment ago, has been dismantled--gone. Congress authorized $200 million for States to help with background checks under the Brady bill. Clinton's budget request has cut that figure by 68 percent. "It is fine to pass the bill, but do not fund it." This administration claims to have put 100,000-plus cops on the streets.…”