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.