ALLEN PUSHES 'DRUG EXILE'

He Wants To Raise Penalties For Crimes

Republican senatorial hopeful George Allen proposed yesterday a federal
Project Drug Exile program that would increase penalties and add federal
prosecutors to cut down on drug crimes.

If more prisons need to be built to house the drug criminals, then they
should be built, Allen said, after a luncheon address that laid out his
anti-crime agenda.

"I am more convinced than ever that we must do everything we can to keep
illegal drugs from dimming or destroying our youngsters' bright futures,"
the former Virginia governor told members of the Kiwanis Club of Richmond.
He said drug use among youngsters is increasing.

U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb, the Democratic incumbent whom Allen is trying to
unseat, spoke to the same group two weeks ago.

"One of government's most fundamental responsibilities is to protect the
safety of law-abiding citizens -- not to make excuses for criminals," Allen
said.

As part of his anti-drug program, Allen proposed increasing resources to
stop illegal drugs at the border, treatment for those who have begun
experimenting with drugs and the establishment of a National Council on
Drug Awareness to deliver an anti-drug message.

His "Project Drug Exile," modeled after Virginia's Project Exile for
illegal guns, would provide an additional $35 million to hire more federal
prosecutors and enforcement agents. He would double the mandatory minimum
sentence for those convicted of selling drugs to minors and raise the
penalty for illegal posession of a firearm and drugs.

Allen also wants to offer bounties of up to $10,000 to those who turn in
drug kingpins.

Answering questions from reporters after the speech, Allen said he had
never used illegal drugs, although he said that did not include the
underage use of alcohol.

In his speech, he offered no criticism of Robb, but afterward said "the
Clinton-Gore-Robb crew" offered no moral authority to combat drugs.

He did not answer when asked whether Robb's reported attendance at drug
parties during the late 1980s lessened his moral authority.

He suggested that Robb, in reaction to a civil rights report that found
that federal sentencing guidelines for powder and crack cocaine
discriminated against minorities, voted to lower the penalties for crack
dealers. Allen said the answer is to increase the penalty for crimes
associated with powder cocaine, Ecstasy and methamphetamines.

Jim Mulhall, Robb's campaign manager, said Robb, in fact, had sponsored
legislation to raise the penalty for powder cocaine sales. He voted against
it once when it was attached to a bankruptcy bill, Mulhall said.

And, he said, Allen's commitment to fighting drugs appears to be new,
because, as a congressman in 1991, "when George Allen had more than moral
authority, he had a vote," he voted against a bill providing substantial
new funding for anti-drug efforts.

Tim Murtaugh, Allen's press spokesman, said a large part of Allen's
reputation rests on being tough on crime. The bill he voted against was
part of the Brady bill, which would require a waiting period before the
purchase of a handgun, Murtaugh said. Allen opposed that provision.

Surrogates for Robb also took after Allen earlier in the day on another
drug issue. In this case, state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, and
Democratic activist William Egelhoff said Allen tax-cut proposals would
leave no money to pay for prescription drugs for senior citizens through
the Medicare program.

Robb and other Senate Democrats are proposing a $3,000 annual cap on senior
citizens' out-of-pocket prescription expenses. A Robb proposal would set
aside $40 billion over five years to subsidize the prescription drug benefits.

Allen said he favors a competing Republican plan that provides government
subsidies for new prescription drug policies to be sold by health insurance
companies.