Pubdate: Sat, 07 Oct 2000
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190
Fax: (408) 271-3792
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Authors: Jodi Enda and David Goldstein, Mercury News Washington Bureau

BUSH PLEDGES FUNDING TO FIGHT TEEN DRUG USE

Gore Talks Tax Cuts At Rally In Florida

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush 
accused the Clinton-Gore administration Friday of firing blanks in the war 
against drugs and proposed to increase spending by $2.8 billion over five 
years to curb illegal drug use, particularly among teens.

"Unfortunately, in the last 7 1/2 years, fighting drug abuse has ceased to 
be a national priority," Bush said. "Drug policy has been pursued without 
urgency, without energy and without meaningful success."

Meanwhile, Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore teamed up with his 
running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, at an outdoor rally of 
several thousand people in Orlando, Fla. Gore focused on tax cuts again, 
saying his own are targeted to help the middle class, while Bush would give 
most of his proposed $1.3 trillion tax reduction to people who earn more 
than $1 million a year.

"Those facts aren't fuzzy," Gore said. "Those facts are real. They may be 
inconvenient, but they're not fuzzy." In their debate Tuesday, Bush had 
accused Gore of using "fuzzy math."

In a 20-minute speech to about 150 people at a family-resources center in 
Cedar Rapids, Bush proposed spending $25 million over five years to help 
non-profit agencies assist parents in battling drug use by teenagers. In 
the same period, he would increase spending by $100 million on making 
schools drug-free zones, double funding for community and religious 
anti-drug programs to $350 million and provide $250 million for 
drug-treatment programs for teens.

Bush also proposed spending an additional $1 billion over five years to 
treat people who are addicted to drugs and aren't receiving treatment, a 
category estimated at up to 3 million people. Most of the remaining money 
would go toward preventing drugs from entering the United States.

"One of Mr. Clinton's first acts as president was to slash the staff of the 
drug office by 80 percent," Bush said. "The number of workers there went 
from 146 to 25 -- in other words, about half the size of the White House 
public-relations operation. That says something about priorities."

A representative of Gen. Barry McCaffrey, head of the White House 
drug-policy office, said the Texas governor was using "ancient numbers." 
Bob Weiner said the office initially lost staff when Clinton slashed 
overall White House employment, but that it now had 154 employees -- more 
than when President George Bush, the Republican candidate's father, left 
office in 1992.

Weiner also said the Clinton administration had budgeted about $7 billion 
more to fight drugs -- the amount for fiscal 2001 is nearly $20 billion -- 
than did his immediate predecessor, President Bush. Weiner also cited a 
recent study showing that drug use among 12- to 17-year-olds declined 21 
percent the past two years.

GOP nominee Bush acknowledged that teen drug use had "leveled off" the past 
two years. But he gave the Clinton administration no credit.

Doug Hattaway, a Gore representative, said the administration had proposed 
the largest anti-drug budget to date, and noted that Gore already had 
proposed spending an additional $5.3 billion to crack down on drugs.

"Once again, Governor Bush has misfired in attacking the progress of the 
past eight years," Hattaway said.

Gore representative Chris Lehane said the vice president last year proposed 
a crackdown on methamphetamine production. He has called for better 
treatment options, strengthening the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, 
expanding drug courts and doubling the number of areas designated as high 
drug-trafficking zones to better coordinate law enforcement and toughening 
penalties for those who sell drugs to children.

In Florida, Gore fired up a rally Friday at Orlando's band shell beside 
Lake Eola. Amid swaying palm trees and near-100-degree heat, he called the 
state, with its 25 electoral votes, "the key to the election, and central 
Florida the key to this state."

He also declared Lieberman the winner in Thursday night's vice presidential 
debate with Republican candidate Dick Cheney.

"That was as clear a win if I ever saw one," Gore said.

Lieberman, basking in the crowd's cheers, said jokingly, "You're making me 
feel like `Rocky.' "

His GOP counterpart said bluntly that Gore stretches the truth, in remarks 
to reporters Friday while traveling to Shreveport, La.

"He seems to have a compulsion to embellish his answers, or as I mentioned 
the other day, his resume, and this is a man who has got significant 
accomplishments," Cheney told reporters aboard his campaign plane. "He has 
held national office for 24 years, yet he seems to have this uncontrollable 
desire to periodically add things to his reputation that are not true."
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