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<html>
<title> - CIVIC VOLUNTEERS, YOUTH SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE WAR ON DRUGS</title>
<body><pre>
[House Hearing, 105 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
CIVIC VOLUNTEERS, YOUTH SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE WAR ON DRUGS
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY,
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
of the
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT
REFORM AND OVERSIGHT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 26, 1997
__________
Serial No. 105-9
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
40-342 WASHINGTON : 2002
________________________________________________________________________
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; (202) 512-1800
Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT
DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman
BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois TOM LANTOS, California
CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland ROBERT E. WISE, Jr., West Virginia
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
STEVEN H. SCHIFF, New Mexico EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York
CHRISTOPHER COX, California PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida GARY A. CONDIT, California
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
STEPHEN HORN, California THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin
JOHN L. MICA, Florida ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington,
THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia DC
DAVID M. McINTOSH, Indiana CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
JOHN SHADEGG, Arizona DENNIS KUCINICH, Ohio
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
MARSHALL ``MARK'' SANFORD, South DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
Carolina JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire JIM TURNER, Texas
PETE SESSIONS, Texas THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine
MIKE PAPPAS, New Jersey ------
VINCE SNOWBARGER, Kansas BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
BOB BARR, Georgia (Independent)
------ ------
Kevin Binger, Staff Director
Daniel R. Moll, Deputy Staff Director
Judith McCoy, Chief Clerk
Phil Schiliro, Minority Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal
Justice
J. DENNIS HASTERT, Chairman
MARK SOUDER, Indiana THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut TOM LANTOS, California
STEVEN SCHIFF, New Mexico BOB WISE, West Virginia
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida GARY A. CONDIT, California
JOHN McHUGH, New York ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
JOHN L. MICA, Florida CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
STEVE LaTOURETTE, Ohio JIM TURNER, Texas
BOB BARR, Georgia
Ex Officio
DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
Robert Charles, Staff Director
Sean Littlefield, Professional Staff Member
Chris Marston, Legislative Assistant
Ianthe Saylor, Clerk
Elizabeth Mundinger, Minority Professional Staff
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on February 26, 1997................................ 1
Statement of:
Creighton, John W., Jr., president, Boy Scouts of America;
Faye Dissinger, international president, General Federation
of Women's Clubs; Frank A. Sarnecki, director general,
Loyal Order of Moose; and Mike Marshall, president, U.S.
Junior Chamber of Commerce................................. 4
Herndobler, Dick, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks;
Gordon Thorson, national youth program director, Veterans
of Foreign Wars; Howard Patterson, first vice-president,
Lions Club International; William Pease, assistant director
for children and teens program, American Legion Child
Welfare Foundation; Don Baugher, president, accompanied by
Larry Chisholm, national executive director, Masonic
National Foundation for Children; and Dennis Windscheffel,
drug prevention program consultant......................... 41
Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by:
Chisholm, Larry, national executive director, Masonic
National Foundation for Children, prepared statement of.... 67
Dissinger, Faye, international president, General Federation
of Women's Clubs, prepared statement of.................... 8
Herndobler, Dick, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
prepared statement of...................................... 44
Marshall, Mike, president, U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce,
prepared statement of...................................... 28
Patterson, Howard, first vice-president, Lions Club
International, prepared statement of....................... 54
Pease, William, assistant director for children and teens
program, American Legion Child Welfare Foundation, prepared
statement of............................................... 59
Sarnecki, Frank A., director general, Loyal Order of Moose,
prepared statement of...................................... 18
Thorson, Gordon, national youth program director, Veterans of
Foreign Wars, prepared statement of........................ 50
Windscheffel, Dennis, drug prevention program consultant,
prepared statement of...................................... 77
CIVIC VOLUNTEERS, YOUTH SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE WAR ON DRUGS
----------
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1997
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on National Security, International
Affairs, and Criminal Justice, ,
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in
room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. J. Dennis
Hastert (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Hastert, Shadegg, Barrett, and
Cummings.
Staff present: Robert Charles, staff director and chief
counsel; Sean Littlefield, professional staff member; Chris
Marston, legislative assistant; Ianthe Saylor, clerk; Elizabeth
Mundinger, minority professional staff; and Jean Gosa, minority
administrative clerk.
Mr. Hastert. The Subcommittee on National Security,
International Affairs, and Criminal Justice will come to order.
I take great pleasure in calling this hearing this morning.
As chairman of an oversight subcommittee, it seems that I
rarely have a chance to bring good news into the public eye.
Today, we have a chance to do that.
While the problems of youth drug use are undoubtedly among
the worst our Nation has faced, and faces, of all the problems
we have, we have before us today representatives of volunteer
organizations that are doing their level best to face that
problem.
It is with profound gratitude that I welcome today's two
panels of witnesses. The service they do for our Nation should
not go unappreciated. Even before we begin, let me go on the
record: Thank you for all you do.
Before we hear from our witnesses in more detail about
their programs to fight drug abuse, let me set the stage by
describing the problem we face with youth drug abuse. Illicit
drug use among 8th and 10th graders has doubled in the last 5
to 6 years. Five percent of high school seniors smoke marijuana
on a daily basis, and three out of four have now used
marijuana. Our children are using LSD and other hallucinogens,
cocaine, heroin, and metham-phetamines, at increasing levels.
Parents have stopped talking to their children about the
dangers of drug abuse. Only 3 of 10 children say their parents
have talked to them about drugs at all.
Faced with a problem of this magnitude, I feel it is my
duty as a Member of Congress to take every opportunity to
encourage effective drug prevention programs like those
represented by our witnesses here today.
You people are leaders. You deeply care about America's
children. You have helped, and are helping, to turn back the
tide of illegal drug use, and you have done so as volunteers
without extensive Federal aid. It is on the efforts like yours
that this Nation's future depends.
We know that one of the ways to prevent drug abuse is to
give children a sense of self-value, self-worth. Society cannot
do that in an institutional way. We cannot pass a law and make
that happen. We cannot make a decree and make that happen. It
is just hard work. It is in the trenches day after day. It is
folks like you putting together programs to focus on kids, to
give them the values and self-worth and the tools that they
need to go on with life.
We cannot dictate that our schools do it or that our
churches do it or our communities do it; we can only hope that
folks like you do it, and you are. I want to welcome you.
Before proceeding with our first witness, I am pleased to
turn to my colleague, the subcommittee's ranking minority
member, my friend from Wisconsin, Tom Barrett, for any opening
remarks he may have.
Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you
for holding this important hearing, and I want to thank our
witnesses for sharing your time and your expertise with us
today.
We all recognize the importance of involving the community,
including civic and service groups, in the War on Drugs.
Community groups can help fix this problem. The Federal
Government already recognizes the importance of civic groups by
providing Federal funding to community coalitions to
demonstrate how they are fighting drug abuse.
However, unfortunately, 2 years ago, in the frenzy to cut
social programs, drug abuse prevention programs, including
demonstration projects, were cut 62 percent. Fortunately, the
good news is that Members on both sides of the aisle realized
that this was a mistake, and much of the prevention funding has
been restored.
As a result, we now have 122 community coalition
demonstration grants. Almost every State has one, including my
State of Wisconsin, and Federal seed money has helped build a
strong community network, which now includes over 4,000
community partnership programs. They are a strong weapon
against drug abuse, and they deserve our support.
When I talk to people in my community about programs,
community programs, and obviously the one that gets the most
criticism are the basketball programs, I explain to people that
I would much rather have kids shooting basketballs than
shooting heroin. I would much rather have them shooting
basketballs than shooting guns; and I think, to the extent that
we can get young people involved in positive community outlets
across the spectrum, I think we all gain from that.
It is my understanding that the majority is working with
others to draft a bill that will provide community coalitions
with a new and more permanent source of Federal funding, and I
applaud that effort. I look forward to working with the
chairman to make sure that this is a truly bipartisan effort,
and I hope that we can find a funding source for this new
initiative without damaging existing effective drug programs
which have been successful--for example, the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Grant Program, which provided
funding used to treat 340,000 people with serious substance
abuse programs in 1995, or the National Institute of Drug
Abuse, which provides 85 percent of drug abuse research.
I do not want to see these important initiatives hurt. I do
not think we should be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Again, I want to thank you for taking the time to testify.
I think that in upcoming hearings we may want to hear from some
other groups as well, groups like the Congress of National
Black Churches; community groups like the Hispanic-Black
Community Prevention Network, and others who are also deeply
entrenched in the War on Drugs and have a great deal of insight
to share with us.
But today, I am very excited to hear from the people who
are before us and look forward to your testimony.
Mr. Hastert. Mr. Souder, do you have an opening statement?
Mr. Souder. I have a statement, but I wanted to
congratulate all of the people here today for your commitment
at the grassroots level, because it is good to see that not
everybody says that something has to start in Washington and
then unless Washington moves, nothing is going to happen.
Everybody back home, my family in Indiana and everybody around
the country, realizes that we are drowning in drugs. Our kids
are at risk, our families are at risk, and unless every parent
gets involved, every school gets involved, all churches in the
communities, we are never going to lick this problem.
Part of the reason I am here today is I want to hear what
your groups are doing, and I want to congratulate you. It is
really good to see. We need to do what we can out of
Washington, but it is good to see the response coming from back
home and not always coming from here in the Capitol Building.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Mr. Souder. I would like to welcome
our first panel.
John W. Creighton is president of the Boy Scouts of
America. Faye Dissinger is the president of the General
Federation of Women's Clubs. Frank Sarnecki is the director
general of the Loyal Order of the Moose, and I have to say, Mr.
Sarnecki, I certainly welcome you; and Mooseheart is at the
very heart of my district, and I have a great appreciation for
it. Mike Marshall is the president of the U.S. Junior Chamber
of Commerce.
We welcome all of you, and we are pleased to have you here.
If you would please stand and raise your hands, the committee's
rules require me to swear you in.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Hastert. Let the record show that the witnesses
responded in the affirmative.
Thank you, and please proceed with your opening statements.
We will start with you, Mr. Creighton.
STATEMENTS OF JOHN W. CREIGHTON, JR., PRESIDENT, BOY SCOUTS OF
AMERICA; FAYE DISSINGER, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, GENERAL
FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS; FRANK A. SARNECKI, DIRECTOR
GENERAL, LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE; AND MIKE MARSHALL, PRESIDENT,
U.S. JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Mr. Creighton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for inviting us
here, and good morning. My name is Jack Creighton, and I am the
president and chief executive officer of the Weyerhauser Co.,
but I am here this morning in my role as volunteer president of
America's premiere youth-serving organization, the Boy Scouts
of America.
It is a pleasure to be with you to discuss the programs of
the scouting organization and share with you the efforts the
Boys Scouts of America have undertaken to help combat drug use
in our society.
Today's scouting offers five programs designed to serve the
needs of boys and girls of various age groups. Please allow me
a moment to describe briefly these five programs.
Tiger Cubs are boys in the first grade who learn new skills
with an adult family member. They work together on projects and
attend a monthly event with other Tiger Cubs.
Cub Scouts, for boys in the second through fifth grade,
work with their families and meet for weekly, age-specific
activities in small groups.
Boy Scouts comprise our oldest and most traditional
program. Camping, outdoor activities, and a challenging
advancement program help develop self-reliance and leadership
skills for boys in the 6th through 12th grades.
Exploring is for young men and women in the ninth grade
through age 20. Explorers learn to make career decisions
through a hands-on sampling of vocational and hobby options.
Finally, Learning for Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of
the Boy Scouts of America. Its programs are designed to support
classroom teaching and help prepare students to handle the
complexities of contemporary society.
These five programs impacted the lives of 4,400,000 of our
Nation's youth last year. As an aside, our increase in
membership last year was the largest in 26 years.
Scouting combines fun with educational activities and
lifelong values to a broad range of young people. We help
parents strengthen character, develop good citizenship, and
enhance both mental and physical fitness in their sons and
daughters.
The Boy Scouts of America's efforts to combat drug use
began with a call from the Reagan White House in 1987.
President Reagan personally challenged the scouting
organization to join the fight against drug abuse. Following
that meeting, the Boy Scouts of America aggressively addressed
what it considered to be five unacceptables in our society:
hunger, child abuse, illiteracy, youth unemployment, and drug
abuse.
Later that same year, scouting introduced its new anti-drug
program titled ``Drugs: A Deadly Game.'' Included in this anti-
drug package are a videotape; a poster showing how drugs,
alcohol, and smoking damage the human body; and a teaching
guide for use by parents and instructors. These materials are
also provided in Spanish and contain minimum scouting
identification so that civic, educational, and religious groups
will utilize the materials as well.
The third edition of ``Drugs: A Deadly Game,'' launched in
1994, speaks to today's issues, such as the escalating crack
epidemic, increased use of inhalants, and the popularization of
steroids. More than 16 million copies of the ``Drugs: A Deadly
Game'' booklet have been distributed since 1987, making it one
of the largest national anti-drug efforts ever undertaken.
In 1989, scouting produced a publication titled ``How To
Protect Your Child from Child Abuse and Drug Abuse: A Parent's
Guide,'' plus a videotape and instructor's guide for training
adult volunteer leaders. So that every parent could easily
obtain a copy of the parent's guide, it was eventually inserted
into the inside cover of every handbook used by young people in
scouting. Today, these important messages about drug abuse are
included as a regular part of our handbooks for youth members.
In the fall of 1994, we were asked to participate with the
Office of National Drug Control Policy in the development of a
National Drug Control Strategy. Working with this group, we
continue to be advocating focusing on a comprehensive education
and prevention program aimed at youth which warns about the
dangers of drug abuse.
At our 1996 National Annual Meeting, we introduced a new
Crime Prevention Program. We sincerely appreciate the
opportunity to work with the National Crime Prevention Council,
the International Association of Police Chiefs, and the
National Sheriff's Association in developing this new
initiative. We also enjoyed the support of U.S. Attorney
General Janet Reno as we launched our program this past October
during National Crime Prevention Month.
Designed for use by Scouts and non-Scouts alike, our Crime
Prevention Program continues to promote the ``Drugs: A Deadly
Game'' material.
In May 1995, Lou Harris and Associates released a study
titled ``The Values of Men and Boys in America.'' This study
revealed many interesting findings related to values. Among
other things, it showed that a scouting experience has a
positive impact on values. It also revealed that 51 percent of
the men in America were once Scouts--51 percent.
I mention this as a way to impress upon you that the Boy
Scouts of America can, and does, make an impact on youth and
adult members that we serve today. The total number of youth
and adult members of the Boy Scouts is 5.6 million.
Think for a moment about what goes through your mind when
someone you meet says that you were a scout, they were a scout.
I bet you would take note, I bet you would immediately know
something about this person's values, I bet you know about his
drive to succeed, and I bet you know something about his
character.
You know all of this without him saying anything else about
himself, except that he was a Scout. Everything I have shared
with you today requires no Government funding. The Boy Scouts
of America is proud to pledge the resources required to support
its tradition of teaching values to young people and to
continue our efforts to combat the use of drugs by American
youth. Thank you very much.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Mr. Creighton. Now, I welcome Ms.
Dissinger.
Ms. Dissinger. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the General
Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), I want to thank you and the
members of the Subcommittee on National Security, International
Affairs, and Criminal Justice for holding this hearing and
allowing me the opportunity to submit testimony describing
GFWC's efforts to help American youth stay drug free.
As international president of the General Federation of
Women's Clubs, one of the world's largest and oldest service
organizations, I speak for more than 260,000 members throughout
the United States who are generalists in many areas and expert
at identifying issues important to families and at working to
further volunteer service.
For more than 100 years, GFWC has built an outstanding
record of accomplishments. Our members work to address the
diverse needs of their communities by networking with
specialized associations, as well as with local public agencies
and private groups, in order to maximize the effectiveness of
our community service work. During the previous 2-year period,
1994 to 1996, our 6,500 clubs reported more than 26 million
volunteer hours and $55 million donated to over 400,000
projects nationwide.
GFWC began to concentrate on drug abuse programs in the
mid-1960's, with the first GFWC resolution on substance abuse
adopted in 1968. The Federation launched its alcohol and drug
abuse education and awareness program for women and children in
1974. Ever since then, clubs have had programs to support our
two GFWC resolutions, both updated in 1995, that recommend
educating their communities, promoting activism in the
prevention of substance abuse among the Nation's youth and
supporting efforts of Federal, State, and local governments.
The stated purpose of GFWC's program is to educate members
about substance abuse issues and prevention methods for young
adults and to encourage members to take an active role in
prevention efforts in their communities. GFWC's program is
supported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose agents
work closely with the clubs to educate the community through
the Drug Demand Reduction Program.
In addition, GFWC members work frequently with their
successful programs with such organizations as Mothers Against
Drunk Driving (MADD), Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD),
the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA), the Young Women's
Christian Association (YWCA), as well as local schools and
shelters and both Girl and Boy Scouts.
During 1996, GFWC clubs, working in the area of substance
abuse prevention, reported 200,000 volunteer hours and $890,000
donated to over 2 million recipients. While the Federation is
proud of its cooperative efforts with local law enforcement
agencies, schools, and other organizations, we believe that
Federal, State, and local governments also must work to make
current and new programs effective in helping to eradicate the
drug problem.
I would like to share with members of the subcommittee some
descriptions of GFWC club programs that illustrate our belief
that a consistent, educational, anti-drug message can and does
impact the Nation's youth drug problem. For example, clubs
nationwide support Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E.
One Ohio club raised money for a female police officer, who as
a single mother, would otherwise have not been able to become a
D.A.R.E. officer. In the State of Georgia, a GFWC club, working
with a Sertoma Club, brought 1,500 fourth-grade students to a
drug-free pep rally. Another club performed a puppet show about
substance abuse at a shelter for abused women and children.
California clubs gave $600 to support a program for recovering
abusers that provides work and job training. A program known as
Friday Night Live, organized by club members and parents,
working with police and students, plans alternative parties for
young people.
Clubwomen in over 30 States donated money and participated
in Red Ribbon Week, a national family partnership program, by
distributing ribbons signifying ``say no'' to drugs.
It is my sincere hope that the information that I have
provided will assist members of the subcommittee as they work
to formulate a response to America's drug problem.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Dissinger follows:]
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Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Ms. Dissinger. Now, I'd like to
have the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Sarnecki, of the Moose.
Mr. Sarnecki. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the
committee. On behalf of Moose International, I thank you for
the opportunity to present testimony here this morning
regarding drug abuse and what we are attempting to do as a
preventive measure.
Moose International is a nonprofit, fraternal organization
founded in 1888 for the purpose of inspiring lofty sentiments
relative to humanity's welfare. Currently, there are over 2,100
lodges representing nearly 1,736,000 men and women of the Loyal
Order of Moose pursuing the dream and doing a great job of it.
The fraternity's first philanthropic endeavor consisted of
building a child care facility 35 miles west of Chicago called
Mooseheart. There we are caring for children who need the
benefit of a residential and educational facility such as
Mooseheart.
Our second philanthropic endeavor is located outside of
Jacksonville, FL in the Orange Park community called
Moosehaven. This is a retirement community for our senior
members and their wives. Those who reside at Moosehaven are
there because of a need: a helping hand in the later years of
their life.
Believing that only the home, the church, and the school
have the eminent right to reside in communities, this
fraternity put together their third philanthropic endeavor,
called community service. The community service program of the
Moose centers around helping not only the youth, but also
senior citizens.
In addition to volunteering time and effort at various
Veterans Administration Medical Centers, volunteer hours are
also expended locally through walk-a-thons, Adopt a Highway,
Meals on Wheels, telethons, local blood drives, food
collections, Toys for Tots, and providing holiday meals for
those less fortunate individuals.
The flagship of the Moose International Community Service
Program is the Moose Youth Awareness Program, a program that
was developed in 1986 from an invitation extended to the
fraternity to visit with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady
Nancy in an effort to encourage organizations to adopt the
``Just Say No to Drugs'' program. That program evolved through
the years and is now known as Moose International Youth
Awareness Program.
Can teenagers persuade younger children to make the right
choices in life? ``Yes,'' say the teens and adults who work
together in our Youth Awareness Program. For 10 years, we have
organized high-school-age leaders into a highly effective
speakers bureau to persuade preschool- and elementary-age
youngsters against drug use. We have now expanded our program
to bring awareness to 4- to 9-year-olds on other subjects, such
as child abuse, gangs, and other elements that have an adverse
effect on the youth of today.
More than 1,200 eager teens gather at Moose Association
Student Congresses around the United States and Canada
annually. They come to exchange good ideas, to help themselves
and others to deal with the adverse elements in their own
communities. Many of the students revealed experiences in their
own lives which made them want to prevent further tragedies.
Many are already leaders in their schools or community youth
awareness programs, and some became leaders at the Youth
Congresses.
During the course of the Association Student Congress, the
students focus on creating Moose KidsTalk, which are short
presentations that they will personally give to groups of 4- to
9-year-olds in their home towns. Adult experts were brought in
to inspire where needed, but best of all, the students
initiated their own ideas for Moose KidsTalk. They thought up
ways to empower children to choose health and resist danger and
how to put them into practice.
Several of our students used costumes to convey their
messages to 4- to 9-year-old age groups and encouraged them to
make healthy choices. Others used props or pictures of sports
heroes to get the attention of their elementary-age children.
Many presented skits, some teaming up with young audience
members to play parts.
Most bring activity aids, such as coloring books, flash
cards, or, yes, even a mouse trap. Their sponsoring Moose
lodges and Women of the Moose chapters are additionally
challenged to help make arrangements for their KidsTalk. The
1996 KidsTalk audience numbered more than 32,000 youngsters.
Following the Association Student Congresses, they are
challenged to become speakers' bureaus, finding opportunities
to speak with groups of children, such as Cub Scouts, Brownies,
Bluebirds, elementary school or Sunday school classes, to name
just a few.
Each student is asked to complete a minimum of three
KidsTalks in their own home town or community. About 65 of the
teens attending the Association Student Congresses are then
selected by their peers to attend, along with a guest team from
Great Britain, the International Student Congress.
The 1997 International Student Congress will be held at the
Washington Dulles Hyatt Hotel and includes a full day of
touring Washington, DC, on Friday, May 2, 1997. Those 65
students will start with breakfast at the U.S. Capitol and
complete the day by boarding the Spirit of Washington cruise
ship that evening for a dinner cruise on the Potomac. The
following 2 days are spent exchanging various methods of
presentations to our target 4- to 9-year-old-age-group
youngsters.
At the end of the second day, those students vote to
determine the best of the best. Two students are awarded $1,000
scholarships, and the top student is awarded a $5,000
scholarship and a trip to the international convention, which
will be held in Orlando this year.
A bright and continuing future is planned for the Youth
Awareness Program by making KidsTalk presentations to small
groups of youngsters. Soon this will inspire children in their
communities to join in making healthy choices and avoid adverse
elements. In fact, the voices of those sophomores, juniors, and
seniors who attended the Association International Student
Congress during the last 7 years have reached an audience of
over 200,000 4- to 9-year-olds.
The men and women of the Loyal Order of Moose are dedicated
to caring for youth of our country and in that regard, we will
sponsor a youth forum at the Second World Congress on Family
Law and Rights of Children and Youth scheduled in San Francisco
in June of this year. The Congress is reporting on the grave
plight of children locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Loyal Order of Moose is proud to be a sponsor of this
effort.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, true to form, in her
never-ending quest to provide for the well-being of children,
is honorary chair of the event. We are pleased to be the only
fraternal group participating in the Congress.
The future of our country rests with the little ones of
today. Without a doubt, members of the Loyal Order of Moose and
co-workers of the Women of the Moose will continue to provide
assistance in the goal of helping to make communities a better
place for our youth to grow.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Sarnecki follows:]
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Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Mr. Sarnecki. Mr. Marshall.
Mr. Marshall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do appreciate the
privilege to testify before this committee.
I am the 77th president of the U.S. Junior Chamber of
Commerce, also known as the Jaycees. We are the largest young
person's leadership training organization in America. Our
members are men and women, ages 21 to 39, who believe in our
creed that states: ``Service to humanity is the best work of
life.'' We are the boomers and X'ers that do not fit the media
stereotypes of the ``me generation'' or of the
``disenfranchised slacker'' mold.
Jaycees are people who give generously of their scarce free
time to help improve their communities and the lives of the
people within them. Because of the 29- to 39-year-old age
requirements, our members are in their peak child-rearing
years.
The Jaycees are keenly aware and anxious about statistical
data that shows drug use among children and teenagers is
rising. The Jaycees are positive solution seekers who believe
it is far better to organize than to agonize. Over the years,
we have addressed the problem of youth alcohol and substance
abuse.
Just a partial history of anti-drug and alcohol abuse youth
programs include: 1972 to 1977, Operation Threshold, a program
dedicated to reducing alcohol abuse and promoting alcoholism
treatment, reached 23 million Americans. The program made use
of a Federal grant and was highly successful in raising
awareness about a problem that was not as openly addressed at
that time.
In 1977, the Boston Conference on Teenage Alcoholism and
the Roxbury-Dorchester Jaycees of Massachusetts cosponsored the
Nation's first conference on teenage alcoholism. The meeting
was held in Boston. They provided 200 youths a full day of
workshops, films, and group discussions on the dangers of
alcohol use.
In 1984, combatting drug and alcohol abuse was adopted as a
3-year priority. The U.S. Jaycees encouraged the chapters to
run projects to curb drug and alcohol abuse. Chapters were
encouraged to address this issue on a local basis. Hundreds and
hundreds of chapters took up the fight.
In 1986, the ``Just Say No'' program, the program started
by President Reagan and First Lady Nancy, was endorsed by our
national, State, and chapter organizations. Local chapters,
like the Princeton Jaycees, purchased and donated materials for
the local area schools. This effort went on around the Nation.
In 1990, ``Three Ways To Keep Your Kids off Drugs.'' This
video offers parents a three-step, common-sense approach to
effective parenting. Chapters purchased the tape and provided
them to video stores, schools, and churches. The tape was used
by thousands of parents, law enforcement officers, teachers,
and at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA.
In 1991, Jaycee chapters around the country embraced
Project D.A.R.E. Support for the program varies from community
to community. Chapters provide manpower, money, and organize
local events.
On a local chapter level, in 1986, the Sikeston, MO,
Jaycees purchased, painted, and donated the local D.A.R.E.
officers' vehicle. The same year, they purchased communications
equipment for the local Sikeston Police Department. The
equipment is used to raid the homes and businesses of suspected
drug dealers without the risk of detection.
In 1997, the Virginia Beach, VA community held Crime
Awareness Day. The Jaycees are working with the State's
attorney general and other community service organizations to
put on a day-long event that is aimed at discouraging drug use
and teen violence.
In 1997, there was the ``Want to Get Wasted or Want to Get
Home'' program. This program was developed by the Texas
Department of Public Safety and is being conducted by the
Paris, TX, Jaycees. The program is aimed at reducing the
incidence of drinking and driving among high school juniors and
seniors. The Paris chapter was alarmed at statistics that
showed that 183 Texans between the ages of 15 and 20 were
killed in alcohol-related motor-vehicle deaths. July of that
year was the worst, with a total of 74 young people killed on
the roadways of Texas.
The program includes an 8-minute video of young people
talking about how alcohol has messed up their lives. It
includes pages of information entitled personal, social, legal,
and financial consequences of drinking and driving. The chapter
supplemented these packets with presentations and by purchasing
nearly 4,000 shirts to be given away to the students. The
materials are provided by the Texas Department of Public
Safety, and the Jaycees raised money and secured a $10,000
grant from Allstate Insurance to pay for the shirts.
In 1977, local chapter projects included hosting alcohol-
free, post-prom activities; drug-free teen dances; paying for
speakers and programs to promote a drug-free message in
schools; buying and providing anti-drug, promotional material
for schools. We also support numerous activities that provide
alternative sources of fun, self-esteem, and positive peer and
mentor relationships, such as youth soccer, basketball,
baseball, and football. We support local youth teen centers and
the Boys' and Girls' Clubs.
It has been said that all politics are local. The Jaycees
believe that all problems are local and that, too, all
solutions are local. As an organization that has 132,000
members spread throughout every State in the Nation, we are
uniquely positioned to provide local solutions to the national
problem of youth and alcohol substance abuse.
Throughout our 77-year history, we have tackled major
issues on a community-by-community basis. During our 77-year
history, we built airports across America to facilitate the
growth of airmail service. We purchased street lights for our
cities and towns to improve vehicle safety. When Jerry Lewis
began his telethon against muscular dystrophy, we raised $20
million by running local, community-based projects.
Currently, we are holding town hall meetings on the issue
of Social Security reform. We are building health care
facilities across the country for children with HIV and AIDS,
and for 3 years we have been encouraging retailers to obey the
law and deny minors access to tobacco products. We are not
afraid to tackle current issues and problems.
The Jaycee officers and members get discouraged when the
Federal Government spends money to develop a national manpower
network and all the services necessary to support that type of
national network, when you have existing national organizations
that for a fraction of the money could deliver the programs and
services that are deemed necessary. For decades, organizations
like the Optimists, the Kiwanis, the Rotary, the Lions, the
Jaycees, and others were the backbone of volunteerism in this
country.
During the last 15 years, these organizations have been in
the process of redesigning their structures to accommodate the
changing life styles of today's volunteers. The Federal
Government benefited when these organizations were at their
peak of activity. They provided programs and services at little
or no cost to the taxpayer. During this period of civic
organizational rebirth, I would encourage the Federal
Government to look for opportunities to work with these
organizations.
On behalf of the 132,000 Jaycee members and the 4 million
members that have passed through our organization, I would like
to thank this committee and the chairman for the invitation to
speak on this topic. Bill Clinton said in his inaugural
address, ``When Americans work together in their homes, their
churches, their civic groups, and their work places, they can
meet any challenge.''
As a representative of the Jaycees and other service clubs,
please call upon us for assistance. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Marshall follows:]
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Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Mr. Marshall. We have wonderful
testimony on behalf of the Jaycees.
I am going to open up just to questioning, and I would like
each person to respond as quickly as possible. In your mind,
what is the most effective tool that you have put out there for
young people to prevent drug use? I shall start with you, Mr.
Creighton. Very quickly, of all the things that you have done,
what stands out the most, in your opinion?
Mr. Creighton. I think it is incorporating a message on
drugs with the value-building and character-building aspects of
scouting. It is not a stand-alone; it is part of the fabric of
trying to develop the Nation's youth, and I think that is the
best way that we can impact the youth, including it,
emphasizing it in our scouting program and to values.
Mr. Hastert. Ms. Dissinger.
Ms. Dissinger. I think the most important part that we do
is public awareness and getting our local-level people to work
with other Government agencies and other agencies in developing
programs that work at the local level and then educate youth on
what is involved in becoming involved with a drug problem.
Mr. Hastert. Mr. Sarnecki.
Mr. Sarnecki. I believe that a constant awareness program
has to be put forth to keep the problems of drug abuse in front
of our young people today. I believe we have to start that
awareness program with children from perhaps kindergarten,
because that is the time we have to sort of bring it to their
attention so that when they meet with peers in later years,
they will have an awareness of the dangers of drug abuse.
Another important issue, I believe, is young people dealing
with young people rather than people our age trying to tell the
young people what they should do or should not do. In our
arrangement, we have the youth who work with the young people,
and the young people look up to them as role models.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you. Mr. Marshall.
Mr. Marshall. I believe that we have been most successful
with programs that develop positive self-esteem among the kids,
the younger kids. When we reach them at that age, it tends to
set their formation for life, with positive messages that it is
okay not to do drugs; it is a positive thing. The other thing
that I think has been very effective for us, given our age
group of 21 to 39, has been effective parenting, making sure
that parents understand that they can promote positive self-
esteem in their kids and that they need to do that constantly
to make sure that they do not fall prey to peer pressure, which
is negative.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you. This next question might be a
little bit of a touchy question, but I would like to get your
perspective on it. What your organizations are doing and what
is the sense on most of your growth. One of the places that we
have seen almost random drug use, degeneration of our youth, is
in the inner cities. A lot of people say that well, there is
not a lot of hope and education there. There is not a lot of
future for a kid to go out and get a job and share the values
that the rest of the country have.
First of all, are your organizations, are you growing in
the inner cities, and what kind of programs, if any, do you
have in inner cities?
Mr. Creighton. Well, we have had a special emphasis on the
last 5 years of trying to increase the minority membership in
the Boy Scouts, not only in inner cities, but in some of the
farming communities and the Hispanic community. We have had as
our backbone volunteers in delivering the scouting program to
the youth, but to develop a stronger penetration of the inner
cities, we have actually gone to a program of part-time, hired
scoutmasters to make sure that we have stability in the adult
leadership in those inner communities.
We have, as I mentioned, our membership growth last year
was the greatest in 26 years. We are seeing increased minority
membership in the scouting youth across the country.
Mr. Hastert. Ms. Dissinger.
Ms. Dissinger. We are constantly trying to increase our
membership and diversity and take our public awareness programs
to communities that are not being reached. That is our effort.
Mr. Hastert. Mr. Sarnecki.
Mr. Sarnecki. We try to keep the young people in the urban
areas occupied through various units, such as scouting and teen
clubs, where we provide activities for them, especially the
latch-key children who come home from school and have nothing
to do, and that is an opportunity for them to get into trouble.
It is just all-around activities that we try and give the
youngsters in urban areas, as well as suburbia, involved with.
Mr. Hastert. Have you had success in that area in the urban
areas?
Mr. Sarnecki. Yes, we have. We have been developing a new
concept of family centers rather than just lodges, and through
the family centers that we have established up to this point
there are activities outdoors, as well as indoors, especially
in the urban areas, where there is not an overabundance of
vacant land for activities. But keeping the youngsters' minds
active; that is the approach we are taking.
Mr. Hastert. Mr. Marshall.
Mr. Marshall. I am very happy to report that our membership
numbers are growing in the large metropolitan areas. We have
not had a national focus on this, but, there again, providing
alternative, positive activities for youth, last year alone, in
the fiscal year, we have rebuilt in the inner cities of America
114 baseball diamonds for the youth, places that had become
unable to be used by the youth in those inner-city areas. So we
went in and rebuilt those facilities and got commitments by the
parks and recs. department to keep them up and to provide
programs so that these kids would have a clean and safe place
to play.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you very much. Mr. Barrett.
Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I thank you
for holding this hearing. I saw Mr. Creighton sitting there,
and I have had Boy Scouts for the last 6 days in a row, it
seems. I spoke at an Eagle Scout Award Dinner last Thursday and
Sunday spoke at a 75th anniversary of the largest chapter in my
district, so it is nice to see you here as well.
Mr. Marshall, my ties with the Jaycees are my brother-in-
law and sister-in-law, who passed through the Jaycees. So,
obviously, in our family Jaycees are viewed favorably.
I do not have much connection with the Women's Clubs. I
think you can understand why. I have had the pleasure to speak
with these organizations in my area as well.
I was pleased to hear the chairman's comments. I represent
a district which is one of the most economically and racially
diverse districts in the country, and I represent both the
poorest zip code in the State of Wisconsin and the richest zip
code in the State of Wisconsin.
There is real inner peace that comes when you represent a
district like that, because you know no matter what you do, you
can irritate someone. In many ways, there is a tale of two
cities that is reflected, at least in the State that I
represent.
When the chairman raised the issue of minority outreach or
minority participation, that was touching that nerve with me
again. I consider every one of your organizations a superb
organization, just tremendous civic organizations, and I want
to echo my concern that we do what we can to bring in all
aspects of our society. I think that this is a real challenge.
I think that people naturally gravitate to people more like
them. That is not good; that is not bad. I just think that is
the reality. I have three little kids, and my 4-year-old son
has red hair, and my wife and I love the red hair, but he hates
it because everybody gives him the noogies and say, ``You have
got such red hair.'' The only time that he liked it was when he
met another little kid with red hair. He said that was
something that pleased him.
So I guess my request to you as much as anything--I really
do not have any specific questions--is to do what you can to
try to include all aspects of our society. That is so
important, and I think one of the dangers we fall into as
politicians is that we want to represent the people that
elected us. We want to take the resources to the people who
elected us, but I think that especially with our youth, the
youth that fall through the cracks and do not get involved or
that come from families that do not get involved, I think many
times are the ones that need our help the most. They are the
ones that oftentimes do not get help.
So, I am not even asking you to comment. If you want to
comment, that is fine; but, again, I want to applaud you for
the fine work you do, which is to try to ask you to do even
more. That is a problem for people who do a lot. That means you
are asking them to do a lot more. Thank you.
Mr. Hastert. OK. Anybody wish to comment?
Mr. Marshall. I just would like to say that on behalf of
the Jaycees, we do appreciate this forum. Just the opportunity
to testify here is extremely exciting for our membership, and
it gives them increased credibility as they go into the
communities to do this type of work. We do look forward to any
proactive partnership that we can develop from this event.
Mr. Creighton. Well, I would like to just comment, Rep.
Barrett, on your request. I think it is very critical that the
Boy Scouts do a better job in the minority community. It comes
to mind because I have just spent some time recently with them,
but to look at our new Governor in the State of Washington,
Gary Locke, the first Asian-American Governor on the mainland,
an Eagle Scout. To look at Togo West, the first, I believe,
African-American Secretary of the Army, again, an Eagle Scout.
We have created leaders. We have developed character in
minorities in the past. Our challenge is to do a much better
job of penetrating those communities today and in the future.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you very much. Mr. Shadegg.
Mr. Shadegg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to join the
comments of both the chairman and my colleague on the other
side of the aisle in complimenting all of you for what you do.
For those of us who think that Government has not done a great
job in its efforts, your volunteer efforts, I think, are doing
an important job in the fight against drugs and in the fight to
just rebuild our communities or strengthen our communities, and
I compliment each and every one of you for your efforts and for
all that you do.
I do have a couple of questions, but before I get to those,
I want to say, Mr. Creighton, I was a Scout, a Cub Scout, a Boy
Scout, and I formed my own Explorer Post; and last night my son
crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. I had a ceremony in
Phoenix that I had to miss because I was on a plane here.
I also, on a personal note, want to say that I think
Weyerhauser was instrumental in the formation of the University
of Puget Sound Law School, and I was in the first class at
University of Puget Sound Law School. So in that regard, I want
to say thank you.
I have some general questions. I just watched a program in
Tucson. I was called by a fraternity brother from Tucson--my
district is Phoenix--who said, come to Tucson; I want to show
you an anti-drug program being presented at a Tucson high
school, and would you give me a couple of hours of your time to
drive down to Tucson and watch it? I did.
It was a program presented to, I guess, all of the juniors
and seniors in the high school. There were, I believe, five
actors, all of whom had been alcoholics or drug addicts at some
point in their lives, and the program was originally started,
by the way, in Seattle. But they each went through a kind of a
dramatic presentation, individually and as groups, about how
drugs had impacted them.
There were discussions of a drug deal that had gone bad,
and the two of them would talk about that drug deal and their
involvement in it. Another one would be an example of an
argument that had occurred between one of them and one of their
parents. Another member of the cast would play this out.
Following their presentation, the students in the high
school were able to ask them some questions. I found a couple
of things fascinating, and I guess I am interested in your
reaction.
No. 1, the first question that the students from the school
asked was, were those hypotheticals that you presented, or were
they real experiences that you each had in your lives? The
members of the cast answered that every, single little skit--
and they went through maybe half an hour or more of these--had
been something that had really occurred in their lives.
One of them had been in a drug deal that had almost gone
bad before he had cleaned his life up, and the students were
extremely impressed by that.
The second thing that I found fascinating went at the
issue, to a certain degree, of hypocrisy: adults' use of
alcohol and kids' use of drugs. Each of the kids made the point
that a drug is a drug is a drug. Each of these kids, I think
three of the five were alcoholics, and the adults running the
program were alcoholics.
My question to you is, to what degree do your programs
stress alcohol as a drug and the danger of kids getting
involved in alcohol, and to what degree have you heard from
professionals that it is good to treat them together, abuse of
alcohol as well as abuse of drugs? Mr. Creighton.
Mr. Creighton. Well, in the ``Drugs: A Deadly Game,'' I
referred to, we treat alcohol as a drug, just as we do
marijuana, cocaine, or other addictive substances.
Mr. Shadegg. Have you watched the reaction amongst kids?
Does that seem to play well, or do you have a sense for that?
Mr. Creighton. I think they understand it. I think there is
some conflict in their minds because they see alcohol being
used in people's daily lives, and it is a little difficult for
them to equate if it is a drug and it is bad, then why do I see
my parents, why do I see people in restaurants, and why do I
see people using it? But I do think that they understand that
it can have significant negative effects on your life.
Mr. Shadegg. The statistic they used in this presentation
was that one out of every five people who come in contact with
alcohol will turn out to be an alcoholic and that this is a
sickness that may manifest itself in your life, and from there
it is into drugs, or from drugs it is into alcohol.
Ms. Dissinger.
Ms. Dissinger. We have two resolutions. One is titled
``Substance Abuse,'' and the other one is titled ``Substance
Abuse Rehabilitation.'' So, therefore, we do not just talk
about drugs, but we include alcohol, the whole gamut, in our
programs that we are presenting and urging that they have
programs for alcohol as well as the other drugs.
Mr. Shadegg. Mr. Sarnecki.
Mr. Sarnecki. I believe the issue is interrelated. From the
youngsters that we have been dealing with in various youth
awareness programs, they do stress the fact that it is
basically a step upwards as far as substance abuse is
concerned. You start off with drinking beer, and then later on
it will lead to marijuana and then to cocaine or something
stronger and faster than that. So, in our programs, we just
generalize and, in fact, talk about the substance abuse in
general.
I just want to comment that as far as the presentation that
you referred to, there are younger people involved and such,
and I recently conducted focus group meetings among our
members, and a member came up with a real good idea, and I
said, ``Why didn't you ever bring that to our attention
before?'' He said, ``No one ever asked us.''
So I think the same thing refers to our youth of today. It
is OK for us to guide the programs, to get them involved, but I
think we desperately need the input of the kids who are
involved with the various situations today so they can
enlighten us and give us a better idea of how we should handle
this situation.
Mr. Shadegg. Now, all members of this cast--as I said, I
think there were five young people in the cast--the oldest one
was like 23 or 24. The youngest, I believe, was a young lady,
18, and they were all recovering alcoholics or drug addicts who
acknowledged and who had beaten their problem, but were talking
about its impact on their lives.
Mr. Marshall.
Mr. Marshall. We treat all illegal substances as illegal
substances. If it is alcohol, drugs, or tobacco, it is illegal,
and there is Federal law that it is illegal for minors to have
access to tobacco under the age of 18. So we make no
distinction in that.
Using the same thing you are talking about, with our ``Want
To Get Wasted or Want To Get Home'' program, we use a
videotape. In that videotape, you have, showing it to juniors
and seniors, you have a young man on there who is high school
age who is in a drug rehab center talking about his experience.
We have a young man standing in front of a demolished car
talking about how it felt to lose his father to a teenaged
drunk driver. The last segment of that video is a young woman,
a high-school-aged girl. She is in a wheelchair for life and
talks about, you know, in a split second her life is changed
forever.
You can genuinely see that this has an impact on these
juniors and seniors, hearing these real-life experiences and
hearing, not from us, but from their peers, about this.
Mr. Shadegg. My time has expired, Mr. Chairman. I would
just urge you to continue to involve young people in making
presentations to other young people.
Mr. Hastert. I thank the gentleman from Arizona.
Mr. Cummings from Maryland.
Mr. Cummings. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
Chairman, I want to thank you for holding this hearing. I want
to thank all of you all for being here today.
So often what happens in our society, people stand on the
sidelines of life, complaining about what ought to be and
complain about everything that is wrong but never lift a finger
to make a difference. I take this moment to thank you.
Mr. Creighton, you might want to add me to your list of
folk who Boy Scouts' helped. Neither my mother nor father got
through the first grade. I came up in the inner city of
Baltimore. I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout, and I was in
special education, and now I am a U.S. Congressman. I have to
give a lot of credit with regard to that progress--and a Phi
Beta Kappa and a lawyer.
But Boy Scouts did something for me, and I hope that you
will take this message back to wherever, you know, all across
the country when you speak. It gave me a feeling of being
included, to be a part of something. That is so significant,
and I say to the others of you.
You know, a lot of people think that drugs--I mean, I live
in the inner city of Baltimore still, and a lot of people, I
think, assume that kids just sort of rush out there to do
drugs. Let me tell you of one of the biggest problems. One of
you all said it a few minutes ago: Kids need things to do. They
need things to do. They need to be a part of something.
So often, what happens in the inner city is that mother is
not there or the mother is working a job, maybe two jobs. Dad
may not be there. So the fact is that a kid is growing up not
being included, and that is, of course, what a family does. A
family gives a child a sense of inclusion.
The Boy Scouts did a lot for me. It brought me into a
family. I was fortunate enough to have a mother and a father
that were there for me, but they were working very, very long
hours. But it gave me an opportunity to be included in
something.
Then there came a time that--the interesting thing is that
my Boy Scout leader became, later on, a State Senator, and I
joined him many years later as a part of the Maryland General
Assembly. That, to me, just says a lot. I tell people so often
that I consider myself the throw-away kid, the one that they
thought would never grow up to be anyone, the one that they
thought would never get anywhere.
Everything that you do--and I say this to all of you; I do
not have any questions; I just have these comments--every note
that you write, every phone call that you make, every meeting
that you go to, even when you are tired, you are making a
difference in people's lives, and what you are doing is you are
touching the future. You are touching the future.
When we are long gone, the kids that you all touch will
probably turn around and touch other young people, and so I am
just so glad that you all are doing what you do, and I know
that it is people like you who made a difference in my life.
I have made it my business to try to take the same kind of
effort that you put into your jobs and your efforts to put into
other young people's lives so that they can grow up maybe one
day and sit in this chair and say that maybe one day I was a
throw-away kid, but because of various organizations like the
organizations that you all are part of, I am now sitting in the
U.S. Congress, the greatest government in the world. I just
wanted to thank you.
Mr. Hastert. Well, I am not sure what all of you can say to
that, but please, does anybody have any comments?
Mr. Creighton. We are going to do more.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you.
Ms. Dissinger. I would just like to say, as a volunteer
service organization, we are so appreciative of having this
opportunity, because we work at the grassroots level and we
coalesce, and it is so important that we have partnerships
between volunteers, business, and Government agencies.
Mr. Hastert. You know, if I may, just for a second, I
listened to this testimony in other meetings that we have had,
and it really comes down--I was in education for 16 years. I
had an Explorer post. I have done a lot of things. I probably
could have done some things better, but it is really the
inherent value of the human being. If we find ways to bring
those kids into that reality that they are worth something,
there is something that they can do to join in making the world
better, whatever it might be, or they have a value, I think
that is what our goal is.
We constantly cannot afford to lose that view or that idea
that we need to hold out there. It has to be out there all the
time.
I am going to ask Mr. Souder, who is our vice-chairman, if
he has any questions.
Mr. Souder. One thing that I wondered is sometimes when we
look at the--there is a tendency to say, and I think one of you
mentioned in your testimony--I had to step out for part of the
testimony, but that it would be good to have one target drug
program. That is kind of always the way the Government looks at
it and says we need to have a unified effort as opposed to a
coordinated effort of a lot of different groups.
I can see the advantage of a coordinated effort on a school
and in the kids, because they see a common theme coming that
seems to be organized and not overlap different things. But it
strikes me that one of the things, for example, in Ms.
Dissinger's testimony, you mentioned different types of things
that the kids were doing in different places, which suggests,
from what I have seen, too, in a lot of the schools and
different organizations that impact with the schools, that part
of the benefit here is letting the kids have some ownership of
the programs.
It is not necessarily just that the kids that are reached
by the programs indirectly. In other words, if they pass out
pencils or pass out t-shirts with the program, it is not just
the kids who you are reaching through the programs, but you are
actively, by providing activities and getting a number of the
kids involved in the organization, getting kids themselves with
the sense of ownership in the anti-drug war and that if we do
not have--just having been a kid not that many years ago,
although it seems like a long time, that everybody wants to
have a title in an organization or feel like the organization
is theirs. If we had one centralized thing, as opposed to a
proliferation of a lot of different groups, we would not have
as many people with a vested stake in it, in their own
variation of making their own decisions.
I wonder what your reaction to that is in the voluntary
field. For example, Boy Scouts have their own program, and each
of you have different groups with their own programs. The same
thing is true at the adult level. If you have the Moose
involved in one program and you have the Jaycees involved in
another program and you have the Lions Club involved in another
program, each group has some stake in it; whereas, if there was
one program that somehow a committee came up with, the local
club, would they not have as much stake in that?
Mr. Marshall. The thing that I noticed in the testimony and
in talking to my fellow service club leaders is the way they
embraced, say, the ``Just Say No'' program. I think everybody
who testified in this particular setting said that President
Reagan had asked, you know, had called each community service
club in and said, ``Will you get involved in this?'' and they
did. They all adapted it to various different situations, but
they all were under the umbrella of this one particular
endeavor.
It had a theme, it had a commonality of purpose, but then
again, it left enough leeway that you could do different things
to fit different communities and take it to different levels.
It has been my experience with volunteers that most
recently, in the nineties, that they have very little spare
time. The ability to go out and create a program is not as
great as it was 10, 15 years ago, has been my experience. They
like a little more structure. They will go out and implement
things and make them happen, but they would like a little more
guidance than they used to.
So I believe a commonality of purpose, but allow some
flexibility for the ownership, the buy-in, the creativity, but
I think we do need a sense of direction and an overall theme to
the campaign.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you very much. Thank you for
participating and your excellent testimony.
It is now my distinct pleasure to welcome the second panel
of civic group representatives. Gordon Thorson of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars; Howard Patterson of the Lions Clubs
International; William Pease of the American Legion; Dick
Herndobler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks;
Don Baugher and Larry Chisholm of the Masonic National
Foundation for Children; and Dennis Windscheffel, a drug
prevention program consultant, who has done a great deal to
coordinate the efforts of these groups.
If you would all stand and raise your right hands. Our
committee rules require me to swear you in.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Hastert. Let the record show that the witnesses
responded in the affirmative. Thank you, and let us find a seat
here, and please proceed, Mr. Herndobler.
STATEMENTS OF DICK HERNDOBLER, BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER
OF ELKS; GORDON THORSON, NATIONAL YOUTH PROGRAM DIRECTOR,
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS; HOWARD PATTERSON, FIRST VICE-
PRESIDENT, LIONS CLUB INTERNATIONAL; WILLIAM PEASE, ASSISTANT
DIRECTOR FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS PROGRAM, AMERICAN LEGION CHILD
WELFARE FOUNDATION; DON BAUGHER, PRESIDENT, ACCOMPANIED BY
LARRY CHISHOLM, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MASONIC NATIONAL
FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN; AND DENNIS WINDSCHEFFEL, DRUG
PREVENTION PROGRAM CONSULTANT
Mr. Herndobler. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Dick
Herndobler, and I serve as the founding director and senior
adviser of the Elks Drug Awareness Program. I started the
planning process for our program in late 1982, and with an
additional grant from our order in 1983, the program was
introduced. The program is administered by an executive
director, 50 State chairmen, and nearly 2,200 chairmen who have
volunteered to direct drug awareness programs in their local
communities.
I am also responsible for working with the Government
agencies and national organizations involved in this struggle
to provide a drug-free environment for our children and
grandchildren so they can become productive, responsible, and
caring citizens.
We are a supportive organization, and we have two goals.
One is to donate the latest and most factual information on
alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs to parents and teachers of
children in the elementary grades, as they have the greatest
influence and can talk to their children and warn them of the
dangers of using these substances.
Our second goal is to provide wholesome and constructive
activities after school and on weekends as alternative
activities to drugs, gangs, and violence.
In support of our first goal, the printing of our 12
current drug awareness pamphlets and special pieces has reached
15 million copies this last year, making a total donation of
over 120 million pieces since our program began. The materials
are constantly being reviewed, updated, and changed to keep
them current. Our chairmen, when requested by school districts,
purchase videos, provide equipment and provide nationally known
speakers and musical groups that have a no-use message.
We have cooperated with Government agencies and national
organizations, such as working with the Center for Substance
Abuse Prevention (CSAP). We have printed and donated over 10
million copies of their ``Tips for Teens'' series and
distributed them through our own network, as well as the Elks
Radar Specialty Center in Alabama, in cooperation with the
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Information
(NCADI). When the Clearinghouse is out of material, then they
can use our material.
We have printed, in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), their ``Archie'' comic book, which
emphasizes positive peer counseling. With encouragement from
the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, we have
printed their booklet entitled ``Speaking Out Against Drug
Legalization,'' as well as their pamphlet on a drug called
``Cat.''
For 15 years, we have supported and co-sponsored the PRIDE
International Drug Conference, and our local and State chairmen
have raised funds to assist an average of 1,000 young people to
attend this conference every year.
The Greenville Family in Action Resource Center in South
Carolina allowed us to help them by printing and distributing
their parenting brochure. We work also with the National Family
Partnership by providing the funds to print and distribute
their newsletter, as well as distribute their Red Ribbons
during that campaign.
In support of our second goal, another department of our
organization provides after-school and weekend activities for
young people. The basketball ``Hoop Shoot'' program involves
over 1\1/2\ million boys and girls, and we are one of the
largest sponsors of scouting and the Eagle Scout programs.
With the Campfire Girls, Boys' State and Girls' State YWCA
and YMCA programs and others, we have touched the lives this
last year of 2,900,000 youngsters.
We volunteer as coaches and sponsors of youth athletic
teams, such as the Little League, football, bowling, youth
Olympics, Special Olympics, summer camps, hunting clubs, and
teen centers involving more than 870,000 young people.
Elks have a very strong national commitment to work to
support Government agencies and national parent groups to
provide a drug-free environment for the Nation's children. In
many communities, the Elks Lodge serves as a meeting place for
youth groups and adult groups that share concerns about the
increase in use of drugs. We involve young people in many of
our other ongoing programs.
I wish I had the time to describe all nine of them, but I
am sticking to the Drug Awareness Program particularly. A quick
review of the 1996 Annual Report of the Elks National Drug
Awareness Program reveals that programs were established in
2,174 communities that reached 4,900,000 young people, as well
as more than 1,780,000 adults. There were 36,344 of our own
members actively involved, donating over 390,000 volunteer
hours.
We trained 25,000 individuals this last year to work in the
prevention field in their own community, and we financed 3,432
different drug awareness programs.
Mr. Chairman, I know that the recitation of facts and
figures is not always pleasant to listen to, but I brought them
forth primarily to emphasize the fact that there is a vast
reservoir, a vast, untapped reservoir of men, women, and young
people out there in the grassroots areas who are able and
willing to devote the time, the energy, and the dedication to
this struggle to solve the drug problem.
They want to be part of the solution to that problem. I
encourage you to turn to us and let us help you in any way that
we can.
Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to
appear before this committee.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Herndobler follows:]
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Mr. Hastert. Thank you very much for your testimony.
Obviously, one of the things we want to do is to take that
strength that we have all across this country and be willing to
go out and make the difference one on one. I appreciate your
efforts and your suggestions.
Mr. Thorson, from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Mr. Thorson. Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, it
is my pleasure to be here today representing the Veterans of
Foreign Wars and our 2 million members.
Before we get started here, I would like to set the record
straight to ensure that all of you realize that I, too, was a
Boy Scout. I am very proud of that, and really, you know, it is
kind of, after listening to all of the speakers and hearing
about their scouting background, it reminded me of the
importance of scouting. It also reminded me of the fact that
the Veterans of Foreign Wars throughout the country sponsors
1,232 scouting units nationwide.
To answer your question before it is asked, Mr. Chairman,
you asked the other panel about what program that we involve
ourselves with that we feel is doing the most in the drug
effort. You know, our involvement with boy scouting, through
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, is a wonderful opportunity for
all of us in the Veterans of Foreign Wars to give something
back to our youth and give something back of significance.
So I guess I want to jump on the bandwagon for the Boy
Scout program and make it very clear to this panel that
scouting has made a significant impact. Most young men in
scouting, and in girl scouting, too, young women, that are
involved in those kinds of programs do not have the kinds of
problems that we are here facing today.
Today, Members of Congress have the opportunity to consider
the contributions of volunteer-based organizations in helping
our young people stay drug free. As we formulate a national
response to America's growing drug use among our very young,
our Nation's future, after we consider the number of lives
already lost and wasted, the billions of dollars already spent
to combat drug trafficking and to rehabilitate the abusers, and
the millions of productive hours wasted in fighting the drug
war, it is clearly time that we all cooperate and become more
involved and organize to save America's youth, our very future.
We must act quickly and sure to take back control of our
country.
You know, the Veterans of Foreign Wars was formed way back
in 1899, and chartered by the U.S. Congress back in 1936. The
purpose of our organization, or I should say, our corporation,
is fraternal, patriotic, historical, and educational.
Our all-volunteer organization is made up of approximately
10,500 VFW posts located throughout our Nation. Our diverse
membership is made up of men and women who have served their
country during time of war, time of combat in military service,
individuals who want to continue their service to the country
as they work to improve their communities and make America a
better place.
Through the past several years, many VFW posts have
involved their members in most every kind of youth program
designed to create an awareness and/or eliminate substance
abuse.
In preparing for this particular testimony, I was looking
through our records and looking back at the history of drug
awareness in our organization. In fact, I would like to note
that in our next issue of the ``Veterans of Foreign Wars''
magazine, which, again, has a distribution of over 2 million
copies, we have an article coming up concerning drug awareness.
In fact, I was looking at that particular article, and I
thought that maybe I should share some of it with you.
I'd like to read to you a resolution that was passed by the
VFW. ``Resolved, that the President of the United States be
respectfully requested to set aside a week to be known as
`National Anti-dope Week' and that he not only set in renewed
motion every possible Government agency whose function it is to
stamp out this evil, but that he cause to be gathered together
an international conference of competent men and women who will
formulate plans and methods of procedure looking toward the
eradication of the narcotic-drug evil.''
Well, that particular resolution was passed and sent to
President Warren G. Harding back in 1923. I find it curious
because after reading this resolution written back in 1923, and
realizing that this drug problem has been with us since way
back then, I know that the author of an article that caused us
to write that resolution had indicated in the end, the author
indicated that they realized that only a concerted effort at
home by concerned citizens could cure this ill.
Now, that is what they were saying back in 1923. It seems
to me that is what we are saying today. So I guess we have come
full circle, but it points out that the VFW and our Nation, we
have been concerned about this drug menace for 75 years, and
maybe we ought to get on with it.
Through the past several years, again, we have involved
ourselves in many kinds of programs. We have worked with other
organizations and volunteered countless dollars and hours to
make a difference in the war against drugs. In fact, during a
recent 1-year period, 1995 to 1996 program year, over 14
million volunteer hours were spent in community service
projects.
The VFW has worked with police officers. We have worked
with local social service agencies. We have worked with schools
to sponsor needed programs that provide consistent anti-drug
messages. VFW posts have worked with self-help with self-help
groups and made open their post facilities to groups such as
Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. We have also
distributed ``Just Say No'' buttons, circulated booklets,
distributed a children's coloring book, and instituted a
contract-for-life program. We have provided videotapes.
Our organization and the majority of the organizations
represented here today have provided much time, materials, and
money to help educate young people. But just educating our
children in the dangers of substance abuse does not appear to
be solving the problem. It does not seem to matter how cute,
how marketable, or how politically correct we make our program
offerings, we end up with only ``feel-good'' programs with no
real, lasting value.
The VFW does not even pretend to have the answer to the
drug problems in America today, but we do have a large number
of dedicated Americans willing to help.
I see that my time has run out. Could I just have a couple
of minutes?
Mr. Hastert. Yes, if you could kind of summarize.
Mr. Thorson. OK. If I could summarize, we believe that our
organization can best serve the War on Drugs by doing what we
do best. Teaching young people about our country, the flag, and
patriotism, while offering the opportunity to compete for
valuable scholarship dollars is a significant and meaningful
contribution.
The VFW strongly believes that the future of our country
centers on a resolve that we will concentrate on educating our
young from crib to college and to provide parents with the
opportunity and responsibility to be an active participant in
their children's future.
That concludes my statement. I will be happy to respond to
any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Thorson follows:]
Prepared Statement of Gordon R. Thorson, Director, National Voice of
Democracy, Youth Activities & Safety Programs, Veterans of Foreign Wars
of the United States
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
On behalf of the more than two million members of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the United States, I wish to commend and to thank you
for holding this hearing to emphasize the outstanding efforts of
volunteer-based organizations in helping our young people stay drug
free. It is very important for Members of Congress to understand the
significant contributions of community based volunteer organizations as
we formulate a national response to America's drug problem. By holding
this hearing, you are clearly demonstrating a commitment to redressing
the most insidious problem facing our nation today.
One of the most evil and perplexing issues confronting the country
today is substance abuse by a large and increasingly significant
segment of our population. We do not need to remind this subcommittee
that our country, in fact the whole world, is immersed in drug and
substance abuse. The horrible consequences of substance use and abuse
plague our very existence. Most every time we read a newspaper, listen
to the radio, or watch television we hear vivid testimony and must face
the ugly consequences of drug and alcohol-related accidents, crime,
violence, suicides and mayhem. It has become very commonplace to hear
speakers declaring that every American must become involved in the
effort to stop the drug insanity. Most all agree that we must somehow
stop the rhetoric, halt the loss of young lives and return to an
America that promotes basic human values. After we consider the number
of lives already lost and wasted; the billions of dollars already spent
to combat drug trafficking and to rehabilitate the abusers; and the
millions of productive hours wasted in either fighting or being a
victim of the drug war, it is clearly time that we all cooperate,
become involved and organize to rid America of this blight on civilized
society. We must act quickly and surely to take back control of our
country.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States was formed in
1899 and chartered by the United States Congress back in 1936, the
purpose of our corporation is fraternal, patriotic, historical and
educational; to preserve and strengthen comradeship among our members;
to assist worthy comrades; to perpetuate the memory and history of our
dead, and to assist their widows and orphans; to maintain true
allegiance to the Government of the United States of America, and
fidelity to its Constitution and laws; to foster true patriotism; to
maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom, and to
preserve and defend the United States from all her enemies, whomsoever.
Let me give you a brief overview of our organizational structure
and the kinds of program activities we currently provide to communities
throughout the country. Our all-volunteer organization is made up of
approximately 10,500 VFW Posts located within 54 VFW Departments that
are identified by each of the 50 states, Europe, Latin America/
Caribbean, Pacific Areas and the District of Columbia. Our diverse
membership is made up of men and women who have served this country
during time of war in military service, individuals who want to
continue their service to country as they work to improve their
communities and make America a better place.
The purpose of the Veterans of Foreign Wars as stated in our
Congressional Charter clearly directs our organization to offer
programs that center on developing true patriotism, help educate our
young people on the history of democracy, foster true allegiance and
promote duty to country. Through the past twenty years our many VFW
Posts have involved their members in most every kind of youth program
designed to create an awareness and/or eliminate substance abuse. We
have worked with other organizations and volunteered countless hours
and dollars in an attempt to make a difference in the ``War Against
Drugs.'' During a recent one year period (1995-96 program year) members
contributed 14,192,651 Volunteer Hours into community service projects.
To name just a few of our many cooperative substance abuse service
activities:
<bullet> VFW Posts have worked with local Police officers to
implement grassroots anti-drug and anti-crime programs in an attempt to
build community morale and take back the streets.
<bullet> Working with local social service agencies our members
have participated in ``big brother'' programs, designed to give youth
an opportunity to experience what a normal supportive environment is
all about.
<bullet> VFW Posts have worked with schools to sponsor needed
programs that provide consistent anti-drug messages. This includes
everything from purchasing anti-drug materials for classrooms, to
sponsoring drug awareness speakers, to spearheading the establishment
of drug-free school zones.
<bullet> And many VFW Posts work with self-help groups and have
opened up their post facilities to groups such as Narcotics Anonymous
and Alcoholics Anonymous.
Through the years we have involved ourselves in several VFW
initiatives to help educate young people in our local communities:
<bullet> We distributed ``Just Say No'' buttons.
<bullet> Circulated booklets such as What Every Teenager Should
Know About Alcohol and About Building A Drug-Free Community.
<bullet> Distributed a childrens coloring book called Lets Talk
About Alcohol And Other Drugs.
<bullet> Instituted a Contract for Life program, that provided a
contract agreement between the teenager and his or her parent.
<bullet> We have also provided video-tapes to schools called
``Boozers and Users'' with the intention of educating students of all
ages on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.
Our organization and the majority of organizations represented here
today have provided much time, materials and money to help educate
young people. But just educating our children on the dangers of
substance use and abuse does not appear to be solving the problem. It
doesn't seem to matter how cute, how marketable, or how politically
correct we make our program offerings, we end up with only ``feel-
good'' programs with no real lasting value.
The VFW does not even pretend to have the answer to the drug
problems in America today, but we do have a large number of dedicated
American's willing to help. Men and women who served to protect and
preserve our republic during time of war. Dedicated men and women who
have made a life-long commitment of service to country and have
demonstrated a willingness to give their time to support positive
community service and youth programs.
After reviewing the following five point strategy offered by the
Office of National Drug Control Policy:
1. Motivate America's youth to reject illegal drugs and substance
abuse.
2. Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially
reducing drug-related crime and violence.
3. Reduce health, welfare, and crime costs resulting from illegal
drug use.
4. Shield America's air, land, and sea frontiers from the drug
threat.
5. Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply.
It becomes increasingly obvious that ``Motivating America's youth
to reject illegal drugs and substance abuse.'' is the only segment of
this strategy that the Veterans of Foreign Wars can reasonably address.
If goal number one could be successfully achieved and youth could be
motivated to reject illegal drugs and substance abuse . . . . the other
four goals would become unnecessary as there would be no market.
The VFW currently offers good solid programs designed to give
students opportunity, education and is an alternative to a negative
life style. We promote educational opportunities, a sense of community,
pride in their country, respect for the flag and hope for the future.
One example is the premier youth program of our organization ``the
Voice of Democracy Program'' it has been in existence for fifty years,
and is an excellent example of an educational scholarship opportunity
offered by the VFW to high school students. (The Voice of Democracy
Program is a National Audio Essay Competition designed to give 10th,
11th, and 12th grade high school students the opportunity to voice
their opinions on their responsibility to our country and to convey
their thoughts about our republic and win valuable scholarships. Each
year, the program centers on a patriotic theme that challenges the
student participants to think about our country in a positive manner.
The 1997-98 theme is: ``My Voice in Our Democracy''.) We now realize
that our organization can best serve the ``War on Drugs'' by doing what
we do best. Teaching young people about our country, the flag, and
patriotism, while offering the opportunity to compete for valuable
scholarship dollars is a significant and meaningful contribution. Every
organization seated here today has similar opportunities to offer our
youth, but we need a mechanism to better publicize the many
opportunities and a way to coordinate our efforts.
The VFW strongly believes the future of our country centers on a
resolve that will center on educating our young from crib to college
and provide parents with the opportunity and responsibility to be an
active participant in their childrens future. A return to promoting
family values, love of country and a respect for our fellow man would
go a long way towards solving our countries problems. In a recent
speech in Boston, Massachusetts, President Clinton said the message to
Congress should be direct: ``Cross all party lines, throw politics
away, throw the speeches in the trash can, join hands, let's do what
works and make America the place it has to be.''
In closing, Mr. Chairman, the VFW strongly believes the future of
our country centers on a organized multifaceted approach to resolving
the drug problem with each organization, agency and individual
volunteer doing what they do best in the effort. With cooperation,
coordination, communication, we may have a chance to get excessive
substance use and abuse by America's youth back into control.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Mr. Thorson.
Mr. Patterson, of the Lions Club International. Thank you.
Mr. Patterson. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee,
my name is Judge Howard L. Patterson, Jr. I presently serve as
the first vice-president of Lions Clubs International. I thank
you for the invitation allowing our organization to take part
in the hearing addressing this very important issue.
Our international president this year, Augustine Soliva,
from Brazil, wanted to be here today because of his love for
children, but he could not attend due to prior commitments in
another part of the world.
Lions Clubs International was founded in 1917 by a Federal
businessman in Chicago, IL by the name of Melvin Jones, who saw
a vision on the importance of serving the community. Over the
last 80 years, our association has grown from a small group of
businessmen to become the world's largest service-club
organization, with 1.4 million men and women members belonging
to over 43,000 affiliated clubs. We serve more than 43,000
communities in 182 countries throughout the world.
From the beginning, our motto has been, ``We serve.'' In
1925, inspired by Helen Keller, we accepted her challenge and
have become known over the years as the ``Knights of the
Blind.''
Although much of our work has been provided to care for the
needs of the blind and to restore sight to the sightless, our
association has also focused continually since its inception on
serving the needs of our young people. Over the years, various
programs have been developed, including the establishment in
1968 of our Leo Club program. This program now has nearly
130,000 youth members in over 5,000 clubs in 100 countries. Our
Leo members develop leadership, experience, and opportunity
through community service.
Our association sponsors the Lions Youth Exchange Program,
where annually over 4,000 young people between the ages of 15
and 21 have the opportunity of sharing in family and community
life in another country. Closely related to our youth exchange
is Lions International Youth Camp Program. Young people of
different nationalities are brought together to share a camping
experience in a spirit of friendship and understanding.
Lions Clubs International also sponsors a worldwide Peace
Poster Contest for youth, ages 11 through 13. This annual
contest provides youth an opportunity to tell us adults in
picture form how they see the world or would like to see the
world.
Thanks to the commitment from our local clubs, our
organization is the largest sponsor of Boy Scout troops outside
of the church organizations. Our local clubs also help sponsor
many other youth activities, as well as youth scholarship
programs, school-based activities, sporting events, and many
other programs too numerous to list.
If any activity has a positive value to our young people
and one of our clubs has been approached to assist, we are
probably involved.
In 1982, Lions Clubs International made a very important
long-term commitment to do what we could to address drug-abuse-
related problems. As one of the first major service
organizations to do so, our organization felt it was our
obligation because of the seriousness of the drug abuse
problem. We fully understand that the drug abuse problem facing
this country is also a real threat to other countries
throughout the world as well.
Our association is continually encouraging our local clubs
to assist in community drug-abuse-prevention efforts. Because
of our strong commitment to address this issue, Lions Clubs
International provided funding to help underwrite the
development of school-based, drug abuse and violence-prevention
curricula. This was accomplished in partnership with Quest
International. The curricula provided youth with skills
necessary to resist negative influences, such as alcohol,
tobacco, and other harmful drugs, teaching them to make
healthy, mature decisions.
With the financial assistance of many of our clubs, the
curricula have reached over 10 million young people worldwide,
at a rate of approximately 2 million students per year. The
Lions/Quest curricula include ``Skills for Growing'' for
elementary school students, ``Skills for Adolescents'' for
middle-school students, and ``Skills for Action'' for high
school students.
Most recently, our organization renewed its commitment to
youth by adoption of the Lions Youth Outreach Program. The
theme of this program is ``Challenging Tomorrow--Today.'' The
mission of the Youth Outreach Program is to help and to
challenge youth to learn to achieve and to serve. Its goal is
to develop responsible adult citizens, parents, and community
leaders for the future. Important program components include
drug abuse prevention, community education, environmental,
health, international, and recreational services.
As part of the Youth Outreach Program, Lions Clubs
International has invested in the production of a video and
accompanying written materials entitled ``The Future Is Ours--
So Now What?'' This program, sponsored by our local clubs, is
presently being offered in North America. It is our goal to
make this program available at no charge to any requesting
schools and youth-serving organizations to help motivate young
people in service. A program kit has been provided to the
subcommittee staff, which can be shared with interested
congressional Members.
This year, Lions Club Youth Outreach has gained a new
dimension. Lions Clubs around the world are becoming involved
in helping street children, who are at great risk. There are
well over 100 million children roaming the streets without
proper shelter or guidance. Our clubs are being educated on the
scope of the street-children problem, as well as being informed
with the information and ideas on how they can become involved
in alleviating this problem in their communities.
Because of the strong belief that investing in our young
people is the best protection for our future, our association
made a most important decision to host a very timely summit
leadership meeting last June here in Washington, DC. The summit
was attended by representatives from over 30 of our leading
civic and youth-serving, volunteer organizations, including
many here testifying today at this hearing.
Also attending were representatives from drug-prevention-
based coalitions, Federal Government agencies, as well as key
Members of Congress with drug-control oversight
responsibilities.
The purposes of the June summit were to share current
efforts and objectives of each association's mission to help
young people to discuss possible collaborative initiatives and
to identify strategies to encourage and support youth-volunteer
efforts in the communities. Addressing problems related to drug
abuse was seen as essential in the efforts of every
organization which attended.
Our organization believes that the summit was a very
important step toward initiating much-needed action. Copies of
the summit summary report and our international magazine with
an article covering that meeting has been provided to
subcommittee staff for distribution to each congressional
Member.
In closing, our organization would like to publicly
acknowledge the support provided by so many others who devote
their resources and energy as we do to help young people to
become the best they can be. Our association realizes that the
only way that we will effectively address the many needs and
serious challenges facing young people today is to unite,
working together for this common cause.
For the sake of our children and youth, I can assure you
that the Lions Clubs International, as the largest service-club
organization, accepts the responsibility to maintain a
leadership role in our Nation's efforts toward a victory over
the War on Drugs. Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Patterson follows:]
Prepared Statement of Judge Howard L. Patterson, Jr., First Vice
President, Lions Club International
Good morning! My name is Judge Howard L. Patterson, Jr. I presently
serve as the 1st Vice-President of Lions Clubs International. I thank
you for the invitation allowing our organization to take part in this
hearing addressing a very important issue. Our International President
this year, Augustin Soliva from Brazil, wanted to be here today because
of his love for children, but could not attend due to prior commitments
in another part of the world.
Lions Clubs International was founded in 1917 by a local
businessman in Chicago, Illinois, Melvin Jones, who saw a vision on the
importance of serving the community. Over the last 80 years our
Association has grown from a small group of businessmen to become the
world's largest service club organization. With 1.4 million men and
women members belonging to over 43,000 affiliated clubs, we serve more
than forty-three thousands communities in 182 countries throughout the
world. From the beginning, our motto has been ``We Serve.'' In 1925,
inspired by Helen Keller, we accepted her challenge and have become
known over the years as the ``Knights of the Blind.''
Although much of our work has been provided to care for the needs
of the blind and to restore sight to the sightless, our association has
also focused continually on serving the needs of our young people. Over
the years, various programs have been developed including the
establishment in 1968 of our Leo Club program. This program now has
nearly 130,000 youth members in over 5,000 clubs in 100 countries. Our
Leo members develop Leadership, Experience, and Opportunity through
community service.
Our Association sponsors the Lions Youth Exchange Program where
annually over 4,000 young people between the ages of 15-21 have the
opportunity of sharing in family and community life in another country.
Closely related to youth exchange is the Lions International Youth Camp
Program. Young people of different nationalities are brought together
to share a camping experience in a spirit of friendship and
understanding. Lions Clubs International also sponsors a world-wide
Peace Poster contest for youth ages 11-13. This annual contest provides
youth an opportunity to tell us adults in picture form how they see the
world or would like to see the world.
Thanks to the commitment from our local clubs, our organization is
the largest sponsor of Boy Scout troops, outside of church
organizations. Our local clubs also help sponsor many other youth
agencies as well youth scholarship programs, school-based activities,
sporting events, and many more programs too numerous to list. If an
activity has positive value to our young people, and one of our clubs
is approached to assist, we are most likely involved.
In 1982, Lions Clubs International made a very important long term
commitment to do what we could to address drug abuse related problems.
As one of the first major service organizations to do so, our
organization felt it was our obligation because of the seriousness of
drug abuse. We fully understand that the drug abuse problem facing this
country is also a real threat to other countries throughout the world
as well. Our Association is continually encouraging our local clubs to
assist in community drug abuse prevention efforts.
Because of our strong commitment to address this issue, Lions Clubs
International provided funding to help underwrite the development of
school-based drug abuse/violence prevention curricula. This was
accomplished in partnership with Quest International. The curricula
provide youth with skills necessary to resist negative influences such
as alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful drugs, teaching them to make
healthy, mature decisions.
With the financial assistance of many of our clubs, the curricula
has reached over ten million young people world-wide at a rate of
approximately two million students per year. The Lions-Quest curricula
includes Skills for Growing for elementary school students, Skills for
Adolescent for middle school students, and Skills for Action for high
school students.
Most recently, our organization renewed its commitment to youth by
adoption of the Lions Youth Outreach Program. The theme of this program
is ``Challenging Tomorrow--Today.'' The mission of the Youth Outreach
Program is to help and challenge youth to learn, to achieve, and to
serve. Its goal is to develop responsible adult citizens, parents and
community leaders for the future. Important program components include
drug abuse prevention, community, educational, environmental, health,
international, and recreational services.
As part of the Youth Outreach Program, Lions Clubs International
has invested in the production of an video and accompanying written
lesson materials entitled, ``The Future In Ours . . . So Now What?''
This program sponsored by our local clubs is presently being offered in
North America. It is our goal to make this program available at no
charge to any requesting schools and youth serving organizations to
help motivate young people in service. A program kit has been provided
to subcommittee staff which can be shared with interested Congressional
members.
This year, Lions Youth Outreach has gained a new dimension. Lions
clubs around the world are becoming involved in helping street
children--who are at great risk. There are well over 100 million
children roaming the streets without proper shelter of guidance. Our
clubs are being educated on the scope of the street children problem,
as well as being provided with information on ideas on how they can
become involved in alleviating this problem in their communities.
Because of our strong belief that investing in our young people is
the best protection for our future, our Association made a most
important decision to host a very timely leadership summit meeting last
June here in Washington, D.C. The summit was attended by
representatives from over thirty of our leading civic and youth serving
volunteer organizations, including many here today testifying at this
hearing. Also attending were representatives from drug prevention-based
coalitions, federal government agencies as well as key members of
Congress with drug control oversight responsibilities.
The purposes of the June summit were to share current efforts and
objectives of each organization's mission to help young people, to
discuss possible collaborative initiatives, and to identify strategies
to encourage and support youth volunteer efforts in communities.
Addressing problems related to drug abuse was seen as essential in the
efforts of every organization which attended. Our organization believes
that the summit was a very important step towards initiating much
needed action. Copies of the summit summary report and our
international magazine with an article covering the meeting has been
provided to subcommittee staff for distribution to each Congressional
member.
In closing, our organization would like to publicly acknowledge the
support provided by so many others who devote their resources and
energy as we do to help young people become the ``best they can be.''
Our Association realizes that the only way that we will effectively
address the many needs and serious challenges facing young people today
is to unite, working together for this common cause.
For the sake of our children and youth, I can ensure you that Lions
Clubs International as the largest service club organization accepts
the responsibility to maintain a leadership role in our nation's
efforts towards victory over the ``war on drugs!'' Thank you.
Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Mr. Patterson.
Mr. Pease.
Mr. Pease. Mr. Chairman, the American Legion appreciates
this opportunity to present testimony on its efforts on the War
on Drugs. Recent statistics about drug use in America are
alarming, and the subcommittee's leadership and continued
oversight will play an important role in resolving this
tragedy.
The American Legion has been involved in the War on Drugs
since its 1924 National Convention. It has always believed that
cooperative, volunteer efforts at the community level have the
best chance of both effectiveness and survival.
A growing tragedy is the prevalence of drug use in
elementary-school-age children, many of whom come in contact
with drugs by age 7. Programs which provide prevention
education, teach responsible decisionmaking, and stress the
importance of self-reliance, citizenship, leadership, and self-
esteem are seen as viable components to the War on Drugs which
should be utilized in efforts to decrease teenage drug
involvement.
The current programs of the American Legion are designed to
keep youth active and help instill within them a sense of pride
in the future of their community, State, and Nation. These
include American Legion Baseball, the National High School
Oratorical Contest, Boys State and Boys Nation, scouting, and
Junior Shooting Sports.
Last year alone, the American Legion spent $60 million on
its children and youth programs. Success stories of American
Legion programs are exemplified by President Clinton's and Rep.
Ramstad's involvement in Boys Nation. In addition, over 60
percent of all professional baseball players have participated
in American Legion Baseball.
For over 45 years, the American Legion has promoted and
distributed through our local posts, education and prevention
literature concerning the national issue of drug abuse. During
the years of 1970 to 1996, for example, over 3\1/2\ million
pieces of drug abuse information were distributed to schools
and other community-based, youth organizations.
In the last 10 years, the American Legion has made a
concentrated effort in the education of elementary-school-age
children. To do this, the American Legion restructured its
materials to provide a more pictorial format. As a result,
children are able to relate what they see without having to
worry about the words they can neither read nor understand. A
message to parents is presented on the opening panel
encouraging them to review the information with their children.
The American Legion's primary approach to the program has
always stressed prevention through education. The American
Legion believes that to make any real advances, the Nation must
curtail the demand. While interdicting the supply is important,
the supply will only decrease when the demand declines.
The American Legion continues to urge the President and the
Congress to fully support, with adequate funding, all border,
State, Federal, and military drug-trafficking-prevention
programs, to include the continued use of Reserve and National
Guard forces. In addition, the American Legion encourages the
availability of funding for community-based and community-
oriented organizations to continue their efforts in the War on
Drugs.
Literature and alternative activities like those offered by
the American Legion, as well as public service announcements
with the use of celebrity spokespersons must all be
instrumental if we are to succeed. These alternative avenues to
the family cell are necessary because family is no longer the
deterrent it has been in the past. The family is becoming an
endangered species, with single-parent homes becoming
commonplace in many communities.
The American Legion encourages information dissemination as
a way to increase the public's awareness of the consequences of
illicit drug use. This includes the establishment or continued
maintenance of clearinghouses and information centers,
development of resource directories, brochures, and the
advancement of health fairs.
Education programs should be aimed at increasing life and
social-skill building, decisionmaking, refusal skills, and
judgment abilities. These may include family management classes
and mentoring programs.
While the American Legion believes that schools should
concentrate on providing basic learning skills, drug prevention
and early intervention strategies with an emphasis on family
involvement should be increased. Most importantly, America's
youth need viable alternatives like those offered by the
American Legion.
In closing, the American Legion would like to reiterate the
emphasis on the family. The Government, local communities, and
civic and youth organizations are all important in the War on
Drugs, but they can never replace a cohesive, family unit.
The American Legion believes that the Federal Government
should continue to concentrate on drug trafficking and
interdiction to provide the necessary resources for civic and
youth organizations to work with local communities to involve
America's youth and their families.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Pease follows:]
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Mr. Hastert. Thank you very much. There are certainly fine
efforts of the American Legion.
Mr. Baugher.
Mr. Baugher. Mr. Chairman, one of the privileges of being
president is delegation. I have asked Larry Chisholm, our
executive director, to present the testimony this morning on
behalf of the National Masonic Foundation.
Mr. Hastert. Without objection.
Mr. Chisholm. Thank you, Don. Mr. Chairman, members of the
subcommittee, we have already submitted for the record our
rather lengthy statement. I will not try to recite that. Let me
try to emphasize part of it and expand on one other part of it
in the few minutes that I have.
When we began in May 1987, it was already rather late in
what was then called the ``War on Drugs.'' I do not like the
simile, but that is what was used. We looked at our limited
resources and said, ``What part of this can we do?'' We thought
our assumption was when we began, that we would simply step
into something that was already ongoing.
What we quickly found was that while there were a lot of
people jumping up and down and saying, ``nobody cares, nobody
cares,'' our perception was that a lot of people cared, but
nobody knew what the right solution was, what the response to
this problem was. It was rather surprising. As I say, it was
already rather late in the game.
So we looked at it for ourselves, analyzed it for
ourselves, and what we came up with was there are four elements
in the solution of the problem of alcohol and other drug abuse
among children: awareness, treatment, enforcement, and
prevention. What we also saw rather quickly was that the
misunderstanding of the right values between these or the right
mix of these was responsible for the waste of billions of
dollars with no perceived progress. The danger to this is that
if the no perceived progress continues, it will lead to
frustration.
I think, to a great extent, it already has among the
public, and the final surrender will get very attractive, and
we will just go with legalization. Our perception of
legalization is that most arguments for it distill down to
reducing the case load of the system and the courts, and
perhaps there is a less-threatening solution to that problem.
Let me deal briefly with each of the four elements. We
talked to a lot of treatment professionals. The treatment
professionals themselves were telling us that they could not
keep up with the nature and the scope of this problem. If we
are to be a humane society, we must offer treatment for those
who have fallen into the pit of addiction and somehow find the
will to climb out of it.
But as one of our former--again, the ancient phrase, ``drug
czars,'' has said, we do not win a war by treating the wounded;
and the treatment community themselves were aware of that, even
with the optimum possible resources that they had received.
Enforcement can hold back the dam from bursting while we
solve whatever the problem is. That latter part has to be
pursued, or enforcement is helpless. We had Ed Heath, who was,
at the time, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration
Worldwide Intelligence, as a guest speaker at our annual
meeting a couple of years ago; and after he spoke very
eloquently about his view of what was going on around the world
and the flow of drugs, and it was horrifying--the horror
stories were very impressive--he ended with saying, please,
please, please, groups like you and other groups, please pursue
prevention programs because they cannot catch up to the scope
of it either unless we reduce use and demand.
The other two elements, awareness and prevention; awareness
programs is everything from poster contests to kids to TV
programs. The biggest problem or danger with awareness is
believing that it is synonymous with prevention; it is not. It
is very different, and, again, a lot of money has been wasted
on this misunderstanding.
Awareness programs can tell you that a problem exists. It
can give you some idea of the scope and nature of the problem,
and most of all, it can keep people aware that something is
there and that something needs to be done about it. Another
element must be added if there is to be prevention, and that
requires direct involvement.
I think I see generally a movement heading toward that,
toward more involvement. We have a program called the Masonic
Model Student Assistance Training. It is a pure prevention
program, and, in fact, three of our most successful
jurisdictions are represented here on the subcommittee, your
own State, Illinois, as you know; and Arizona and Maryland.
In brief, what the Masonic model does is takes court teams
from schools, usually five to seven educators. I say educators
because it will be teachers. It will also be administrator,
school nurse, guidance counselor. We try to keep it flexible
enough so if there is any school employee, a janitor or
cafeteria worker, that has a particular rapport with the
children, that they be included on the court team; and we have
had some miracles with this. We had one janitor become chairman
of the court team to clean up the school in Maryland, as a
matter of fact.
We would take about 10 of these teams and put them through
a training week. There is an awful lot in the training. I will
not take time for that now. There are two things that make it
most effective: our heavy emphasis on identification of who are
the children that are going to use before they start using. It
is pure prevention. A lot of people do not even know this can
be done. It can be, and it is surprisingly easy.
The second part of the emphasis is on once you make the
identification--and we are talking about children in pain here,
basically, that is what we are talking about--once you make the
identification, how do you intervene? What do you do? In many
cases, of course, the intervention is taking place where the
addictive cycle may have gone on in the family for generations.
We now have affected hundreds of thousands of children
throughout the country already. The jurisdiction where we have
been the longest, for example, from our beginning, our training
in the State of Pennsylvania. For the last reporting year, 1994
to 1995, the last year for which we have figures, 71,637
children were referred to the court teams. These are children
that are in trouble, or already headed toward trouble. As of
the most recent report, 86 percent of those have shown on
further signs of difficulty.
We can get fancy by talking about doing this and how we do
it. Basically, what it is all about is setting up a systematic
way for caring adults to be in touch with the children. That is
what we do. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Chisholm follows:]
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Mr. Hastert. Thank you, Mr. Chisholm.
The final person to testify today is Dennis Windscheffel,
and although he does not represent any one volunteer
organization, he has been very instrumental in coordinating
many volunteer organizations, up to 60 million, representing 60
million Americans who belong to those organizations. So we
appreciate your work and ask for your testimony.
Mr. Windscheffel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think before I
begin my testimony, I feel I should give some thanks back both
to the chairman, especially, and Bobby Charles to your side,
because we need more Bobby Charleses to make things happen back
here, especially with the Congress. I appreciate his effort and
his staff in allowing these great organizations to have the
opportunity to tell their story.
Mr. Hastert. You have found out that the staff makes the
place run. [Laughter.]
Mr. Windscheffel. I am a member of Lions Clubs
International, so I should give them credit, but I was also an
Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, so I am proud of
that fact, too.
As you are aware, I have been asked to give the concluding
summary testimony at this hearing because of my vast experience
in not only working with these organizations, but also because
of my experience in the drug-prevention field over the years.
This subcommittee has heard today from representatives from
a cross-section of leading volunteer-based organizations. You
have learned about valuable, prevention-based, program services
offered to help young people lead drug-free, responsible,
caring, and productive life styles. These leading volunteer
organizations have a long history of addressing many social
challenges. Through a combined membership of over 50 million
American adults and youth--again, 50 million American adults
and youth--approximately 60 percent of the population of the
United States of America, they do represent the largest,
combined, volunteer base in this country. They also represent
the largest, combined movement in drug prevention in the
country.
Their commitment to help address problems facing your young
people has always been a major part of their mission. Over the
years, I have had the opportunity to help plan numerous
prevention-based programs designed to positively impact the
lives of young people.
I have had the unique opportunity on two occasions to plan
summit meetings discussing important youth issues, bringing
together the leadership of several of our Nation's leading
civic and youth-serving organizations. As I have traveled
across America, implementing various prevention-based programs,
I have always emphasized the importance of how these
outstanding organizations are playing a significant role in the
battle against drugs.
My discussion in regard to the value of these organizations
has included a presentation to various Federal agencies. I have
seen many Federal initiatives which could have been
dramatically enhanced if the civic volunteer and youth-serving
organizations were involved. But unfortunately, too often, many
of these Federal agencies have been conditioned to focus on
working with their own grantees and not with outside
organizations.
I bring this point up because it has become apparent and
mentioned over and over again today that the Government alone
cannot resolve the drug problems and other concerns facing our
young people. If we are to have a real chance to control the
problems related to drugs, then there must be a major force to
help facilitate collaborative actions among various
nongovernmental stakeholders, along with Federal Government
programs.
To have a major impact on controlling drugs, we must focus
more on strategies that address the process of how we do
things. We need to address real problems facing our young
people in a holistic approach, realizing that there is common
ground to resolve any anti-social behavioral symptoms. With
limited time and community resources, an effective approach is
to encourage local communities to form a community, rather to
form a centralized, prevention-based coalition consisting of
stakeholder organizations rather than a coalition for each
behavioral problem addressed.
To further involve the American public in our drug-
prevention efforts, we need to expand our definition of what
drug prevention is. Too often it is perceived too narrow and
very limited for the average citizen to visualize how he or she
can assist.
By expanding the parameters of the definition of
prevention, basic, fundamental principles which we know
positively impact the lives of young people, citizens can
better realize that there are important roles that everyone can
play. Involvement in these roles can do more good if
accomplished on a national level than ever could be
accomplished with limited Government funding.
The organizations here today have the ability within this
network to carry this message out in communities all across
America. The uncontrolled usage of drugs as recreational or as
addictive can seriously impact our country. Most alarming of
all is that too many young people today do not see the harm and
are willing to experiment with various types of drugs with
little or no peer pressure put on them at all.
The result is an alarming increase in the number of young
people involved with drugs which has never been experienced at
this level.
If this is not bad enough, we are now facing a new crisis:
a revitalized, drug-legalization movement across this country.
The rationale for this movement is based on the argument that
certain drugs now classified as illegal should be allowed
because of possible medical benefits. Coming from California, I
have seen first hand how legalization organizers have been able
to mislead the public, resulting in the approval of Proposition
215.
This initiative is so loosely written and if spread across
the country, this movement could put us back at ground zero in
our drug control and prevention efforts. If we do not act
quickly and effectively, uncontrolled involvement in drugs has
the potential to seriously impact all major national issues.
This includes seriously impacting our national economy, the
Federal budget, health care, education, and most importantly,
the very fiber of the society holding this great country
together.
At this time, I would like to present a few strategies very
quickly, because I see my time is out. Basically, they are some
of the ideas I have talked to Bobby Charles about, and they
have to do with some structural changes with ONDCP.
Mr. Hastert. If you could, could you just submit them in
writing into the record. We have a series of votes coming.
Mr. Windscheffel. Oh, OK.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Windscheffel follows:]
Prepared Statement of Dennis Windscheffel, Drug Prevention Program
Consultant
On behalf of the outstanding organizations here today, I wish to
thank the House Subcommittee on National Security for providing the
opportunity to testify. This subcommittee has heard from
representatives from a cross section of leading volunteer-based
organizations representing major service clubs, fraternal, veteran's
organizations, a women's and business organization, and from a leading
youth serving agency. Testimony today has included a brief history of
the organizations and an overview of the significant roles they play
related to the war on drugs. You have heard about prevention-based
program services offered to help young people lead drug-free,
responsible, caring, and productive lifestyles. Some have shared ideas
to enhance prevention activities. Included in my summary remarks are
recommended strategies to improve our nation's overall prevention
efforts as well as participation by major civic volunteer
organizations.
These leading volunteer organizations have a long history of
addressing many social challenges facing this nation. Through a
combined membership of over 50 million American adults and youth, these
organizations collaboratively represent the largest combined organized
group of volunteers providing resources to communities. There members
collectively belong to hundreds of thousands of local community
affiliated chapters serving communities all across this country. Not
only do members of these organizations provide volunteer service but
most pay membership dues to belong to their respective organizations.
Their members meet socially and in service on a regular bases. These
organizations provide various types of leadership training and provide
communication networks so every member within their organizations can
be kept abreast about what is happening.
Local affiliate chapters raise funds through various types of
activities which are put directly back dollar for dollar into the
communities addressing needs. There is no overhead and no profit taken.
Their organized structures at both the top and local community levels
play a big part for there long time existence and significant
accomplishments. Their commitments to help address problems facing our
young people has always been a major part of their missions.
I am here today because of a personal decision I made approximately
15 years ago. It was one of the most important and rewarding decisions
of my life. In 1982, I was serving as the club president of the local
Lions Club serving the community where I resided and had a business.
During my year as club president our organization made a long-term
commitment to emphasis the importance of our association and local
clubs do what they can to address drug related problems. This
commitment was made by Lions Clubs International because of the
seriousness of the problem not only facing our nation but also because
of the dangerous and real threat it presented to countries all around
the world. During my year as club president, I was able to have my club
sponsor prevention educational program materials I designed for young
children to be placed in a few elementary schools. As this program grew
other service clubs and fraternal organizations helped sponsor these
materials. This joint sponsorship allowed all elementary schools in the
entire school district to present educational materials to help
children understand the importance of non-drug involvement.
As my personal desire grew to do what I could in the crusade
against drugs, I made the decision to leave the business world and
dedicate both my professional services as well as much of my volunteer
time in this most important endeavor. Since that time, I have had the
opportunity to help plan numerous prevention-based strategies,
programs, and other services designed to positively impact the lives of
young people. I have designed and administered several prevention-based
federally funded programs. These programs have been funded by the U.S.
Department of Education, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Drug
Enforcement Administration, ACTION, and by the Corporation for National
Service. I have had the unique opportunity on two occasions to plan
summit meetings, bringing together the leadership of several of our
nation's leading civic and youth serving volunteer-based organizations.
One of the main purposes of these summit meetings was to focus around
drug prevention issues related to young people. In planning this most
important hearing today, I was given the opportunity to assist staff in
the recruitment of organizations which have testified.
As I have traveled across America implementing various prevention-
based programs for young people, I have always emphasized the
importance of how many leading civic and youth serving volunteer
organizations are playing a significant role in the battle against
drugs. Because of my personal knowledge of their abilities and desires,
I also have stressed that there is much more that these great
organizations can and would do to help address concerns facing our
young people, if only there was a more organized structure to
facilitate such action.
My discussions in regards to the value of the civic and youth
serving volunteer organizations over the years has included
presentations to various federal agencies with drug prevention
responsibilities. I have seen many federal initiatives which could have
been dramatically enhanced if the civic volunteer and youth serving
organizations were involved. But unfortunately, too often many of these
federal agencies have been conditioned to focus on working with their
own grantees and not with outside organizations. I have even heard the
excuse that building such a partnership is not in their Congressional
mandate. It has been very frustrating to understand why there has been
little effort to attract the involvement of our volunteer civic
organizations when they have so much to offer.
I bring this point up because it has become apparent that the
government alone cannot resolve the drug problem and other concerns
facing our young people. Even with all the grant programs funded across
this nation over the years, there will not be a national triumph unless
cost-effective resources within communities are more effectively
utilized. If we are to have a real chance to control the drug problem
then there must be a major effort to help facilitate collaborative
actions among various key non-governmental stakeholders along with
federal government programs.
Since 1985 large sums of federal funds have become available for
grant programs to address the drug problems. In most cases these funds
have not been evenly distributed across this country with the exception
of drug-free school state block grant funds which are distributed to
requesting school districts. Many geographic areas have been able to
successfully receive several grants while other areas around the
country have received little or nothing. I which I could say that the
funds that Congress provides always goes to the most needed
communities, but often those community areas with the best success are
politically correct or have the best grant writers.
To have a major impact to control drugs we must focus more on
strategies that address the process of how we do things. We must employ
many more approaches providing prevention opportunities for every
community across this country. This includes an awareness campaign at
the national level which stimulates the involvement of the American
public in our prevention efforts. We need to address real problems
facing our young people in a holistic approach, realizing that there is
common ground to resolve many antisocial behavioral symptoms including
gang, violence, crime activity, teenage pregnancy, dropping out of
school, etc. With limited time and community resources, a more
effective approach is to encourage our local communities across the
country to form a centralized prevention-based coalition consisting of
stakeholder organizations rather than a coalition for each behavioral
problem addressed.
To further involve the American public in our drug prevention
efforts we need to expand our definition of what prevention is. Too
often it is perceived to narrow and very limited for the average
citizen to visualize how he or she can assist. Too many Americans see
our prevention efforts as highly specialized and something which only
law enforcement officers or other professionals in the field can
provide. By placing the word drug before prevention we make it sound as
if it has to be treated differently than other prevention efforts for
young people at risk. Involvement in drugs needs to be thought as a
symptom or outcome of real problems facing our young people.
By expanding the perimeters of the definition of prevention to
basics, citizens across this country can better realize that there are
important roles that everyone can play. We need to emphasize to a
greater degree the importance of good parenting, having the family
attend church services, supporting positive youth activities in the
communities, provide service opportunities for young people, and we can
go on and on with sound fundamental principles which we know make a
real difference in the lives of young people. Involvement in these
roles can do more good if accomplished on a national level than ever
could be accomplished with limited governmental funding. The
organizations here today have the ability and tremendous network to
carry this message out and to make these activities happen in
communities all across America!
I wish at this time to share a few other personal observations
based on my years of experiences as it relates to our nation's efforts
to address the drug problem, especially as it relates to helping our
young people. First of all, I want to make it perfectly clear to the
members of this subcommittee and to the panel representatives here
today, that the problems related to illegal drugs (including alcohol
for youth) has been and still are the greatest threat facing our
country and world today. This statement is even more magnified if we
confined the problems to our young people.
I know that there is much discussion now in Congress and in the
White House on balancing the budget, protecting social security,
welfare reform, and the cost of Medicare. Not resolving these issues
can have a dramatic impact on the future of this country down the road,
and workable bipartisan solutions must be found. With the same vigor as
these issues we must as a nation unite to seriously address our most
present danger to our country and most importantly to our young people,
our future!
The uncontrolled usage of drugs as either recreational or as
additive can seriously impact our country and world in many ways. The
relationship between drugs and crime is significant with our prisons
overcrowded with criminals with some type of drug involvement. Gang
activity related to drugs is a concern facing many communities today
resulting in citizens and young people living in fear. Emergency rooms
in hospitals are often bombarded with overdosing cases related to
drugs. And most alarming of all, too many young people today do not see
the harm and are willing to experiment with various types of drugs with
little or no peer pressure put on them. The result is an alarming
increase in the number of young people involved in drugs which has
never been experienced at this level.
If this is not bad enough, we now face a new crisis, a revitalized
drug legalization movement across this country. The rationale for this
movement is based on the argument that certain drugs now classified as
illegal should be allowed because of possible ``medical'' benefits.
Coming from California, I have seen first hand how legalization
organizers have been able to mislead the public resulting in the
approval of Proposition 215. This initiative is so loosely written that
if spread across the country this movement could put us back to ground
zero in our drug control and prevention efforts. Drug legalization
activists have been able to successfully with a minimum of dollars
compared to the billions of dollars provided over the years to address
the drug problem, create a national debate on the value of certain
illicit drugs and our present drug control policies.
I know that Director Barry McCaffrey from the Office of National
Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is a very dedicated and capable individual
who is a personally commitment to defeat this current legalization
movement. This subcommittee though needs to understand that no one man
or agency can do everything that is needed to effectively control and
diffuse what should be a real and alarming concern facing this nation.
Both the propositions in California and Arizona prevailed because the
winning side was organized and the losing side was not prepared. With
the present movement of many more states now considering similar
initiatives, we must now view this as a national threat which needs to
be addressed by all three federal branches of government. If we do not
act quickly and effectively, uncontrolled involvement in drugs has the
potential to serious impact all major national issues being addressed
by this Congress and the White House. This includes seriously impacting
our national economy, federal budget, health care, education, and most
important the very moral fiber of our society holding this great
country together.
As I try to assess where we are as a nation in our prevention
efforts, I am reminded of a old television commercial showing a
mechanic holding up a new oil filter and saying ``Come in and see me
now to have this inexpensive filter put in your car, or it will be very
costly when I see you later to repair your engine.'' I wish that I
could say that we had time to still change the filter as it relates to
our drug crisis, but it is too late! We now need to do some major
repairs by the best mechanics available to effectively address drug
related problems facing this nation. We may even need to change some of
the parts or even consider a major overall of the system!
Before I present some workable strategy ideas, my mission here
today is not to put any blame on who is responsible for any past or
lack of past actions. Even though we can learn by mistakes made in the
past and need to take them into consideration, the important thing here
today is to discuss what to do now and in the future. I will emphasis
strategies that will utilize the resources of our nation's great civic
volunteer and youth serving organizations to be pivotal in our nation's
prevention efforts.
To develop sound prevention-based strategies there needs to be
effective action plans to make sure they become realities. Strategies
need to be based on concrete premises. Five important premises to base
an aggressive and effective drug prevention movement in this country
include:
1) The drug crisis is real and is one of the greatest threats now
facing our nation and world today. We are now facing the battle of our
lives and the immediate future of this country. There is a crisis and
the American public must be told the truth and become aware of the
seriousness of the problem. We cannot avoid the problem, we cannot put
it under the rug, we must educate our citizens and aggressively combat
the problem with no further delays.
2) Communities who can develop active collaborative prevention
movements within stand the best chance of effectively addressing
concerns related to drugs as well as other social concerns. The role of
federal government can best be served by providing seed funding for
promising programs to help facilitate communities and organizations in
initial prevention efforts but should not be there for developing long
term dependent relationships. Communities organizations should be
thanking the federal government for funds provided to start program
services rather than complaining about more funds for continuing the
programs.
3) To combat any aggressive drug legalization movement, the best
defense are aggressive offensive tactics. Although challenges must be
presented in opposition to the strengths of the legalization movements,
major stress should be placed on approaches attacking the weakness of
the legalization movements (i.e. in responding to Proposition 215 more
emphasis needs to be placed on addressing such real concerns as no age
limits for provided medical use, no control factors put in place for
distribution of drugs to be used, no specific limitations as to what
medical problems justify usage, mix messages given to young people, and
reminder to public that marijuana has been proven to be harmful to the
body and is one of the most common gateway drugs leading to the use of
even more destructive drugs). Too much emphasis is now being placed on
medical doctors debating with other medical doctors. It appears if we
are falling into a trap set by the other side putting us in a no-win
situation.
4) Studies have shown that one of the best forms of prevention for
young people is to provide opportunities in service to others. This can
help young people socially bond with school, community and family,
developing a real sense of self-worth and responsibility.
5) Promising prevention programs must be sustained on an ongoing
bases by local communities to keep drug related problems under control.
Efforts should be directed by a prevention-based coalition consisting
of representatives from key stakeholders.
At this time, I will present a few strategies for federal
government consideration designed to enhance and improve current
approaches and prevention-based participation, as well as counter the
present drug legalization movement. Strategies presented take into
consideration one or more of the five premises mentioned above.
recommendation one
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under the
leadership of the Director should establish a management level task
force consisting of well qualified non-federal governmental experts
representing each of critical identified stakeholder areas (i.e. law
enforcement, education, entertainment field, religious institutions,
community coalitions, civic and youth serving volunteer organizations).
Selected individuals should represent outstanding prevention leaders in
their field, highly respected by their peers, and capable of securing
vast non-governmental resources contributed at the local community
levels by stakeholders they represent. The organization of this
management team could bring together leaders in each of their
respective fields to plan and put into place the most effective action
plan to carry out proposed strategies. Joint meetings could take place,
allowing task force members to coordinate collaborative initiatives
between the various stakeholder areas as well as with involved federal
agencies.
The time it would take for any Director of ONDCP, no matter who he
or she is, to learn all that is needed is time we now cannot afford.
The current system provides for ONDCP staff (although qualified in some
areas) who may not be in the best position to most effectively move
entire key stakeholders at a national level. I am fully aware that
experts in various fields provide advisement to ONDCP staff, but what
is recommended is not the same. There is a big difference in the
approaches! Advisors advice and that is the extend of their services.
What is recommended here provides for experts who are in a better
position to actually produce results and be accountable for what is
achieved. These dedicated individuals do not just sit in Washington,
D.C. but would travel around the country putting forces together in a
common effort to achieve objectives related to the five goals presently
outlined in our national drug control strategy. Instead of relying on
just advice we are utilizing experts in each of the critical fields to
facilitate the greatest impact. Funds needed to form this management
team of experts can be taken from the $60 million provided by Congress
to ONDCP to enhance the performance level of the agency.
recommendation two
An united national campaign must be conducted immediately by each
of the identified stakeholder areas under the direction of ONDCP. This
campaign needs to alert communities all across America of the
seriousness of the drug problems (including current drug legalization
movement), and about promising strategies and programs to implement to
combat the problems. Leaders of Congress and the President of the
United States should address the American public specifically in
regards to the drug issue. There needs to be a strong message sent
across this country that we now face a crisis.
recommendation three
To help spread resources evenly across the country, tax incentive
legislation should be put into law that help stimulate prevention
efforts in communities. Tax incentives could include tax credits or
deductions for contributions provided for prevention programs impacting
young people. In addition, deductions should be considered for
businesses and corporations sponsoring employees and management into
civic volunteer organizations. Donations to civic volunteer
organizations for prevention efforts should be allowed for tax
deduction purposes. Offsets for these incentives can be based on
earning your tax relief rather than just providing tax cuts giving tax
breaks across the board. Restrictions could be placed on qualifying for
tax incentives at the state level (i.e. such as need to in compliance
with federal drug laws), and at the community level (i.e. such as need
to have certified community-based prevention coalition in place).
recommendation four
Federal funding for drug related programs (including state block
grant funds) should be allocated to only states and organizations
within these states in full accordance of federal drug related laws.
Any state not in accordance (i.e. California and Arizona) may have up
to 18 months to be in accordance to federal drug related laws. This
includes laws pertaining to FDA requirements dealing with approved
drugs for medical purposes. An example of this type of legislation may
be compared to legislation providing federal funds for highway
improvement. Legislation should be considered immediately and attached
to the 1997 drug bill so states get the message before upcoming public
votes on proposed ``drug use for medical purpose'' initiatives.
To protect our young people, its time for the White House and
Congress to work together to get tough and to send a strong message.
The proposed legislation will send a much stronger message then federal
action taken so far. It would help attract more citizens and voters
involved in our defense than by threatening to take the licenses away
from doctors for prescribing illegal drugs for patients. School
districts (including parents of students), state and county agencies,
concerned civic organizations and other significant groups will join
the cause to defeat any type of state laws that could jeopardize future
federal governmental funding for programs combating drug related
concerns.
recommendation five
A forum should be sponsored by ONDCP or other designated federal
agency whereby key representatives from leading civic and youth serving
volunteer organizations can jointly meet either annually or biannually.
At this forum selected federal agencies (i.e. ONDCP, U.S. Department of
Education, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, DEA, Corporation for
National Service) could present current promising research findings in
area of prevention. Governmental prevention initiatives could be
presented which can be enhanced by involvement of civic and youth
serving organizations. Action plans can be discussed at these forums.
This could also provides opportunity for leaders of Congress and
Administration to address key representatives of major civic and youth
serving organizations in a single setting. Follow-up communication
needs to be established (i.e. computer networking) so civic and youth
serving organizations are aware of most current promising strategies
and programs available to share with local affiliated chapters across
this country. ONDCP should in cooperation with other agencies put
together a series of video programs covering various drug prevention
issues with master tapes provided to headquarters of civic and youth
serving volunteer organizations for distributed to local affiliates for
viewing.
recommendation six
Emphasis should be given on providing federal grants to provide
``seed'' funds to help initiate program services at the community
level. Special development grants should be provided to major youth
serving organizations. These organizations have the capacity to develop
promising prevention program services that can be duplicated and
distributed with non-governmental sponsorship funds to a vast number of
affiliated chapters nationally.
In reference to the proposed Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997,
special funding consideration should be given to the 100 cities (many
representing the largest cities across this country) participating in
the upcoming April Presidents' Summit for America's Future. The
formation of a community-based prevention coalition could be easily
incorporated in what selected teams of leaders from these invited
cities will be charged to do as an outcome of the summit meeting. An
in-service workshop about the Drug-Free Communities Act should be
presented at the summit meeting covering the requirements for grants,
as well as effective steps in the formation of a prevention-based
coalition addressing youth concerns (including drug prevention
efforts). Why not build upon a national movement with vast resources
all ready being invested for the best effective results.
I will now present recommendations and some examples related to
actions which can be taken by our nation's leading civic and youth
serving volunteer organizations to help make a significant difference
in controlling our nation's drug problems. These recommendations
include:
1) Providing their vast communication channels (i.e. magazines,
newsletters, web pages, conventions, forums) to carry important
awareness messages out to millions of members and families across the
country. These messages should include presentations by their own
international or national leaders, the President of the United States,
leaders of Congress, the Director of ONDCP, and other national figures.
2) Distribution of prepared video programs explaining and
illustrating national drug control strategy plan, counter activities
for drug legalization movement, and importance of immediate involvement
to help young people lead drug-free and responsible lifestyles. Video
programs to be provided to local chapters across the country for
viewing by members at chapter meetings and by other citizens at civic
organization sponsored events.
3) Sponsorship of national, state, and community prevention service
recognition awards, honoring organizations and individuals providing
outstanding service to help young people stay drug-free. This includes
the sponsorship of a national youth award promoted by major youth
serving organizations across the country.
An example of a partnership with the federal government in this
area is the recent commitment by several of the leading civic volunteer
organizations to sponsor national service scholars. Sponsoring civic
volunteer organization chapters will put up a minimum of $500 to honor
outstanding high school students providing service to their community.
This scholarship will be matched by $500 provided by the Corporation
for National Service. I predict that in just two years a significant
number of local chapters of our leading civic volunteer organizations
will make it possible for every high school in the country to honor a
national service scholar.
4) Organization headquarters to serve as clearinghouse for local
chapters advising of most promising programs to invest time and funds
resulting in significant results. Encouragement given by leaders to
start or belong to local prevention-based coalitions in communities
served.
5) Support of selection representative(s) to attend annual or
biannual ONDCP meeting, and as available panel member(s) for
presentations at invited events (i.e. CADCA, PRIDE conferences,
Congressional hearings).
6) Sponsorship and involvement of summit meetings bringing together
respective leadership for planning of collaborative efforts related to
youth issues of concern.
7) Major emphasis placed on sponsoring positive activities for
young people, junior service clubs (i.e. Key, Leo Clubs), and joint-
community service projects with youth. With the vast number of local
chapters, civic and youth serving volunteer organizations are in an
ideal position in collaboration with school districts to provide or
sponsor a variety service opportunities for high schools students in
the community who could be given credits towards their graduation.
8) Developing new promising prevention-based programs and services
based on current research findings. These programs and services to be
made available to local affiliated chapters to share with local
communities. In addition, at the international or national levels open
communication (i.e. computer networking) should be established so
organizations can share information to local chapters and to one
another at national or international levels.
What has been recommended today can potentially stimulate and
impact millions of people not only in this country but in many other
countries as well. Just think what could be accomplished if this type
of movement available through our civic volunteer organizations can
also be generated by several of the other key stakeholder areas as
well. It is possible to achieve this goal if we were more organized at
the federal government level as recommended.
As you are aware, since the conception of the ONDCP there has been
a series of reports published outlining the national drug control
strategy. Federal agencies are given direction as to roles they should
play to carry out these strategies. In these reports there is mention
about the importance of the involvement of various non-governmental
organizations to take an active role to help local communities in the
battle against drugs. Yes, there is even mention of the general role of
the civic volunteer organizations. With all this great planning why do
we still find ourselves in the predicament we now face as it relates to
drug control issues?
I know that our current ONDCP Director, General Barry McCaffrey,
has stated on several occasions that we have dropped the ball! The key
word in his statement is we. With the word we comes responsibility.
During this decade an event happened in another part of the world which
brought together the historical formation of powerful forces to combat
the invasion of one country into another, the invasion of the very
small country of Kuwait by Iraq. Why did this happen? The stakes were
high including possible control of a significant portion of the world's
oil supply. One after another, nations joined the efforts of the United
States to form one of the largest and most powerful coalitions every
formed in modern times. How were we so successful to defeat the enemy?
We gathered the forces around the world, brought in the best military
leaders to plan the attack, and utilized their services to take shift
action to carry out the plan. We utilized are best air attack forces
and weapons to reduce enemy resistance for our ground forces. We then
had our ground forces marched into Kuwait with the best military
equipment available to drive the enemy forces out with minimum losses.
There was another important factor though which dramatically helped
our forces triumph to victory in this Middle East crisis. This factor
often overlooked was one of the most powerful in the results obtained.
Our military forces left this country with the understanding that the
American public was fully supportive of what they were doing. It was
right and just!
With the success we experienced from this historical event, what
lessons could be learned from Operation Dessert Storm to help us with
what we are now facing as it relates to the drug crisis? First of all,
we must as a nation understand that there is an ongoing invasion on our
own soil. Utilizing illegal drugs as the weapons, the enemy is
spreading across the country. The enemy ground troops have arrived in
two of our states (California and Arizona) and are marching to advance
to many other states. Unlike, Dessert Storm, the allies and the enemy
are in most cases ourselves making it much more difficult to recognize
and defeat. The longer we take to react the more we allow the enemy to
set dig deep trenches. How important are the stakes this time? Is the
deterioration of the future of our young people and this country high
enough? I believe so, and so do the millions of Americans represented
by these most important civic and youth serving volunteer organizations
here today.
To succeed, the we which General McCaffrey talks about must include
all involved. We triumphed in Dessert Storm because we all supported
the effort, it was right and just. We now need to do what has not been
accomplished so far in our nation's efforts to rid the vast destruction
caused by illegal drugs. Bring the best leaders together to plan and
lead the various stakeholder forces that we have in this country to
help rid our nation of deadly and destructive drugs. We must unite the
American public in this cause so when our Drug Enforcement Agents, and
police officers put their lives on the line to combat the supply and
use of drugs they know that they have the support and commitment of the
citizens they serve. This same level of citizen support needs to be
given to all those in the community who dedicate their volunteer and
professional time in the trenches trying their best to help turn the
drug crisis around. We must now put everything on the table, select the
best approaches, and most importantly take shift and effective action.
This includes bold and courageous steps against the present and future
drug legalization movements. We must do this so those now in the
prevention and treatment fields to help our young people do not feel
deserted.
I and the organizations represented here today have not come here
to testify because we feel that we cannot overcome the drug crisis. In
fact, we are here because we believe that this country has the forces
to soundly put our drug problems under control. I know that there are
millions of Americans represented here today that are willing to help.
They come with their hands out not asking for federal funds but to
grasp your hands in partnership to save our young people and this
country from destruction. The most important role that our government
can play in the ``war on drugs'' may not be the ability to provide
funding for a limited number of programs. It will be to help facilitate
a real, meaningful and powerful national movement stimulating the
involvement of the American public in communities all across this
country. We must work together to employ strategies so that the we can
be expanded to allow every citizen the opportunity to provide their
support and commitment.
I know that the 105th Congress will pass legislation on very
important issues impacting our country. The most important
accomplishment that this Congress can achieved is to bring about the
necessary changes and direction in our nation's efforts to help our
youth in their quest to become drug-free, caring and responsible
citizens. No greater challenge and responsibility do we all have for
the sake of this nation and the future of this world.
It has been a honor to be here among representatives from several
of our great volunteer organizations who serve this country so well. It
is also been a privilege to testify to the Congressional members of
this subcommittee who I know have a deep concern and conviction about
the future of our young people. I know that you have been enlighten as
I have been and share the vision how our outstanding volunteer-based
organizations serving our nation are and can be even more essential and
powerful partners in mutual efforts to help young people face serious
challenges. The roles that that the leading civic volunteer
organizations can play in our nation's prevention efforts are
paramount! They have the combined vast forces with over 50 million
members, hundreds of thousands of local chapters and millions of
dollars of resources raised at the local community levels to set the
example for others. This includes supporting community-based prevention
coalitions, sustaining prevention activities, defeating drug
legalization movements, and to help lead the country to victory over
the ``war on drugs.''
As previously mentioned, fifteen years ago, I had the support of
local chapters of many of the civic organizations here today. With the
support of their local chapters we made a difference in my community. I
now sit before you with the support of international or national
leaders of many of these same organizations fully capable of making a
significant difference helping young people avoid drugs in communities
all across America.
I leave you with the thought that we must all come to the
realization that it is time to move forward, making necessary
modifications to improve our approaches, and employ measures which can
move this country in unity, setting a course of action to do what is
right and just. If we are really serious about making a significant
impact to help our young people lead a drug-free lifestyle and to
become the ``best they can be,'' we must act now! I will close with a
profound statement I will never forget in reference to the war on drugs
given by a most respected U.S. Senator, Alan Simpson, from Wyoming. He
stated, ``We need to do whatever it takes, and if we don't all we have
to lose is our country.'' Thank you.
Mr. Hastert. I am going to have to leave here and break
shortly. Because of that, I want to thank everybody, and
especially you, Mr. Windscheffel, in doing the coordination.
But each one of you brings a very valuable contribution to
this--I call it a war; some people choose not to call it a war,
but this effort to bring our youth involved in this in a first-
hand way, so that they can actually be enabled to help others
to have a sense of worth, to be part of this process of
becoming an American and not falling on the wayside with the
problems that are out there, drugs being the No. 1 thing.
I would ask that we leave the record open, if we could,
because of our constraint of time, and we have a series of
votes coming up here, that we could submit several questions to
you and that you would respond to those questions. We would
like to have all your information, the strategies included.
I would like to tell you one other thing. The Speaker
called me this morning and wanted to be able to come and
testify for a couple of minutes. You know that you have got his
attention. He knows how important it is for our grassroots
organizations, those people that are there involved with people
day in and day out, those organizations are going out and
reaching out to our kids, our children, how important they are.
Because of his constraints, he could not be here, but you have
his attention.
I would also like to ask that all of you from time to time
come back and testify and be a part of the strategy of working
together.
So I appreciate everybody being here today, especially the
great testimony of the witnesses that you have brought forth,
and we certainly have had a very exceptional hearing. With
that, I am going to say that this hearing of the Subcommittee
on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal
Justice is adjourned. Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 12:05 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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