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40–342 CC 1997

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

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT

DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman

BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York

J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois

CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland

CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut

STEVEN H. SCHIFF, New Mexico

CHRISTOPHER COX, California

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida

JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York

STEPHEN HORN, California

JOHN L. MICA, Florida

THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia

DAVID M. MCINTOSH, Indiana

MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana

JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida

JOHN SHADEGG, Arizona

STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio

MARSHALL ‘‘MARK’’ SANFORD, South

Carolina

JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire

PETE SESSIONS, Texas

MIKE PAPPAS, New Jersey

VINCE SNOWBARGER, Kansas

BOB BARR, Georgia

——— ———

HENRY A. WAXMAN, California

TOM LANTOS, California

ROBERT E. WISE, JR., West Virginia

MAJOR R. OWENS, New York

EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York

PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania

GARY A. CONDIT, California

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York

THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington,

DC

CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania

TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland

DENNIS KUCINICH, Ohio

ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois

DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois

JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts

JIM TURNER, Texas

THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine

———

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont

(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

CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut

STEVEN SCHIFF, New Mexico

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida

JOHN MCHUGH, New York

JOHN L. MICA, Florida

JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona

STEVE LATOURETTE, Ohio

BOB BARR, Georgia

THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin

TOM LANTOS, California

BOB WISE, West Virginia

GARY A. CONDIT, California

ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland

JIM TURNER, Texas

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

(III)

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

(1)

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 methamphetamines, 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 effecVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:53 Jun 24, 2002 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 W:\DISC\40342 pfrm04 PsN: 40342
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tive 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

3

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.

4

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 SpanVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:53 Jun 24, 2002 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 W:\DISC\40342 pfrm04 PsN: 40342
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ish 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 efVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:53 Jun 24, 2002 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 W:\DISC\40342 pfrm04 PsN: 40342
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forts 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 mid1960’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.

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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.

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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.

17

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, true to form, in her neverending 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 coworkers 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

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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 daylong 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, postprom 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

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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.

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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 allaround 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.

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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

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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 antidrug 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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

41

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

42

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 11⁄2 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

43

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:]

44

45

46

47

48

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.

49

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.

50

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 DE- MOCRACY, 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

51

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: • VFW Posts have worked with local Police officers to implement grassroots antidrug and anti-crime programs in an attempt to build community morale and take

back the streets. • 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. • 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. • 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: • We distributed ‘‘Just Say No’’ buttons. • Circulated booklets such as What Every Teenager Should Know About Alcohol

and About Building A Drug-Free Community. • Distributed a childrens coloring book called Lets Talk About Alcohol And Other

Drugs. • Instituted a Contract for Life program, that provided a contract agreement between the teenager and his or her parent. • 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 ‘‘feelgood’’ 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,

52

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

53

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 longterm 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 schoolbased, 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

54

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.

55

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, schoolbased 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 probVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:53 Jun 24, 2002 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 W:\DISC\40342 pfrm04 PsN: 40342
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lem, 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 elementaryschool-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.

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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 31⁄2 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 singleparent 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

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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 IntelVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:53 Jun 24, 2002 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 W:\DISC\40342 pfrm04 PsN: 40342
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ligence, 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,

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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 youthserving 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.

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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, preventionbased 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.

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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 nondrug 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.

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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

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fectly 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

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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.

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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 communitybased 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.

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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.

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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 nongovernmental 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

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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,

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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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