PRESIDENT AIMS TO BOLSTER PRISON DRUG-TEST PROGRAM

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton proposed Tuesday a steep increase in money
to enforce "zero tolerance" of drug use by prisoners and parolees.

Flanked by his drug czar and attorney general, Clinton outlined a $215
million program to help states and counties drug-test, treat and punish
prisoners and parolees. The effort builds upon an existing program.

Clinton's announcement coincided with release of a Justice Department study
showing that the majority of prisoners report prior drug use.

The survey, conducted in 1997, found that 83 percent of state prisoners and
73 percent of federal prisoners reported past drug abuse. Nearly 20 percent
of state inmates and 15 percent of federal prisoners reported that their
convictions stemmed from offenses to get money for drugs.

"It is clear to us that if we're going to continue to reduce the rate of
crime, we have to do something to avoid releasing criminals with their
dangerous drug habits intact," Clinton said.

The president called his budget plan "a dramatic leap forward," in the
fight against drug use. He said it would be the biggest effort to date to
test and treat not only prisoners but parolees and probationers.

"To inmates in every state, we want to send a message: If you stay on
drugs, you must stay behind bars. To probationers and parolees, we want to
send a message: If you want to keep your freedom, you have to keep free of
drugs," Clinton said.

White House officials said the $215 million would ensure that states fully
implement their plans to drug-test prisoners and parolees. The initiative
also would help support efforts by states such as Maryland and Connecticut,
which regularly test inmates on probation.

The president's fiscal 2000 budget also will include a separate $50
million, a 25 percent increase over this year, to expand the number of
local drug courts and $65 million for residential drug treatment programs
in state prisons.

Clinton also announced release of $120 million under the fiscal 1999 budget
for drug-free prison initiatives -- $63 million earmarked for state prisons
to provide long-term treatment and intensive supervision for those with the
most serious drug problems.

Attorney General Janet Reno noted the number of federal inmates tested for
drug use last year was 133,000. And, since 1993, the number of federal
prisoners receiving treatment has risen from 5,450 to 21,995.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the lieutenant governor of Maryland, said 50
percent of all drug use is by people under the supervision of the criminal
justice system.

"When we talk about the revolving door of criminal justice, it is clearly
the drug-addicted offenders who are turning the wheels," she said.