Political Quotes

“I rise to introduce the ``Powder Cocaine Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Act,'' along with Senator Allard and other Senators whose names I will be submitting in a moment. This legislation will toughen sentences for drug dealers caught peddling powder cocaine. I believe it is crucial, given our continuing struggle in the war on drugs, that we send an unwavering and unambiguous message to all Americans, and our children in particular, that the sale of illegal drugs is dangerous, wrong, and will not be tolerated. As the father of three young children, I am deeply disturbed by recent trends in drug use. Indeed, since 1992 Washington has been losing important ground in the war on drugs. Let me cite just a few of the alarming facts: Over the past five years, the average number of federal drug defendants prosecuted has dropped by almost 1500 cases from the 1992 level. And the average number of drug convictions has gone down by a similar amount since 1993. The drug interdiction budget was cut by 39 percent from 1992 to 1996 and drug surveillance flights were cut in half. The impact on our kids has been serious. In the last six years, the percentage of high school seniors admitting that they had used an illicit drug has risen by more than half. Incredibly, 54 percent of the Class of 97 had used an illicit drug by graduation. For 10th graders during that same time, drug use has doubled. And--perhaps worst of all--nearly 20 percent of our 8th graders use illegal drugs.”