Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Author: Mike Dorning

HASTERT CARRIES GOP FLAG IN WAR ON DRUGS

WASHINGTON - The handiwork of suburban GOP Rep. Dennis Hastert will be
on display this week as the Republican Party begins unveiling a series
of anti-drug measures.

The headlines probably will be grabbed by show "drug-free"
initiatives, like "drug-free Congress" legislation, requiring random
drug tests of elected representatives and their staffs.

But the broader plan will reflect the priorities of Hastert, a
less-than-flamboyant lawmaker who has focused on drug issues for years
and was chosen by Republican leaders to coordinate the campaign.

Look for Hastert's influence particularly in a stepped-up emphasis on
drug interdiction and border controls.

The GOP plan will call for the hiring of thousands of additional
border guards and a major commitment to deploy technologically
advanced equipment that can "sweep" luggage for traces of illegal
drugs, a congressional staff member said.

Hastert also has been musing about triple-fencing parts of the Mexican
border, sure to be diplomatically troublesome but politically popular.

The Republican plan would view drug education and prevention programs
more skeptically, putting them under close scrutiny to show a tight
focus on anti-drug messages or measurable results in lowering
narcotics use.

Drug abuse awareness programs, including the politically popular DARE
(Drug Abuse Resistance Education), have come in for criticism for
ranging too far from their purpose in places.

How the program will fare is open to question, with Republican leaders
recently signaling they will use a hard stand on drugs to fend off
criticism they are too soft on cigarette-makers.

Intertwining the plan with the politically charged tobacco settlement
can cause only trouble during an election year. But Hastert, a
committed partisan, argues, "There is a real nexus with tobacco. I
think we'll get it all passed."

INOCULATION: Hastert also inserted himself into the last-minute
behind-the-scenes struggle within the Clinton administration last
weekend over federal funding of needle exchange programs for drug
addicts to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Tipped by staffers of drug czar Barry McCaffrey, who strongly opposes
federal funding for such programs, Hastert warned President Clinton
off in a meeting the two had during the "Summit of the Americas" in
Chile which Hastert was attending as the lead congressional delegate
on drug policy.

The lawmakers office also pre-empted a planned administration
announcement Monday with press releases whipping up opposition to
needle exchanges. The administration, in a last minute flip-flop, came
out against funding Monday.

"I think I got his attention," Hastert said.