BUSH NAMES DRUG CZAR

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush named a new drug czar Thursday,
tapping John Walters to head the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy.

"He will serve as a valuable member of my Cabinet," Bush said, outlining
$1.6 billion in anti-drug initiatives aimed at treatment efforts over the
next five years.

In a Rose Garden announcement ceremony, Bush pointed to rising rates of
drug use in the United States and said, "We must do and we will do a better
job."

Bush promised a balanced approach to his White House's drug policy, which
he said would include initiatives ranging from a crackdown on prison drug
use to interdiction efforts in countries like Mexico and Colombia. But Bush
focused his remarks at Walters' announcement on his proposals for treatment
and prevention programs.

Bush said he wanted to improve drug treatment programs to better reach the
country's 5 million hard-core drug users, who consume about two-thirds of
all drugs in the United States. Bush said he wanted to close the treatment
"gap" between the 2 million hard-core drug users in treatment programs and
the 3 million who aren't.

The announcement followed Bush's move Wednesday to name Rep. Asa
Hutchinson, R-Ark., as head of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Walters, who was the No. 2 official in the White House anti-drug office
during the previous Bush administration, was a frequent critic of the
Clinton's administration's approach to drug policy, which he said neglected
interdiction efforts.

Walters also supports a law requiring U.S. certification of anti-drug
efforts by countries with a known narcotics trade, like Colombia and
Mexico, which risk losing U.S. aid and trading if given a poor rating. That
stance could put the Bush administration at odds with Mexico, which has
called for an end to the policy, and perhaps other Latin American countries
where Bush is seeking trade deals, like Colombia.

Both nominations face Senate confirmation.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Senate judiciary
committee, said Wednesday he thought Hutchison would win congressional
approval unless something unforeseen arose in confirmation hearings.

"Asa Hutchinson I know very well," said Leahy, who called Hutchison
"totally honest, even though we disagreed on issues."

Asked about Bush's pick for drug czar, Leahy said, "I don't know Walters at
all, and so I can't speak to that."

Walters currently heads a charitable foundation called the Philanthropy
Roundtable.