This program is the primary federal source of drug and violence prevention efforts in 97 percent of America's schools. Both the Safe and Drug-Free Schools bill and the Drug Education, Prevention, and Treatment bill provide states the resources and flexibility they need to target drug and violence prevention dollars where they are needed most. Additionally, I want to thank Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Leahy for including in the Drug Education, Prevention, and Treatment bill two important provisions which I included in last year's stalled Juvenile Justice bill. Such grants will help leverage limited federal, state, and community-based adolescent services, which in turn, will help fill the large unmet need for adolescent mental health and substance abuse treatment. Mr. Chairman, we need initiatives like these because drug use and drug abuse have become all too pervasive.
Drugs are on our streets.
They are in our schools. And, they are in the hands of our children. That's why we must get to our kids before the drug dealers do. We must get drugs out of our schools. We must prevent drugs from ever entering our country.