Following is President Clinton's State of the Union Address to the 105th
Congress:

[QUOTE] Again, I ask Congress to pass a juvenile crime bill that provides
more prosecutors and probation officers to crack down on gangs and guns and
drugs and bar violent juveniles from buying guns for life. And I ask you to
dramatically expand our support for after-school programs.

I think every American should know that most juvenile crime is committed
between the hours of 3:00 in the afternoon and 8:00 at night. We can keep so
many of our children out of trouble in the first place if we give them some
place to go other than the streets, and we ought to do it.

Drug use is on the decline. I thank General McCaffrey for his leadership,
and I thank this Congress for passing the largest anti-drug budget in
history. Now I ask you to join me in a ground-breaking effort to hire a
thousand new Border Patrol agents and to deploy the most sophisticated
available new technologies to help close the door on drugs at our borders.

Police, prosecutors, and prevention programs, good as they are, they can't
work if our court system doesn't work. Today, there are large numbers of
vacancies in our federal courts. Here is what the chief justice of the
United States wrote: "Judicial vacancies cannot remain at such high levels
indefinitely without eroding the quality of justice."

I simply ask the United States Senate to heed this plea and vote on the
highly qualified nominees before you, up or down. Thank you. Thank you.

'Build a New Era of Peace and Security'

We must exercise responsibility not just at home but around the world. On
the eve of a new century, we have the power and the duty to build a new era
of peace and security. But make no mistake about it: Today's possibilities
are not tomorrow's guarantees. America must stand against the poisoned
appeals of extreme nationalism. We must combat an unholy access of new
threats from terrorists, international criminals and drug traffickers.

These 21st century predators feed on technology and the free flow of
information and ideas and people, and they will be all the more lethal if
weapons of mass destruction fall into their hands. To meet these challenges,
we are helping to write international rules of the road for the 21st
century, protecting those who join the family of nations and isolating those
who do not. [END QUOTE]

Following is from the response of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott
(R-Miss.) to President Clinton's State of the Union Address:

[QUOTE] But we have only just begun the difficult job of stopping big
government, making it more responsive and -- perhaps hardest of all --
rebuilding the trust you used to have in your elected officials.

That's especially important when it comes to education, to taxes, and to the
twin plagues of drugs and crime. Those are the three areas where the
American people are most dissatisfied -- and where our freedom is most
threatened.

Parents -- and good teachers as well -- are dissatisfied with schools where
kids don't learn and, in many cases, where they aren't even safe. When
one-quarter -- one out of four -- of our high school students can barely
read, isn't it obvious the current system isn't working?

I know we are all fed up with the criminal justice system that has
tragically failed to halt the poisonous epidemic of drugs that is
undermining family life in our country. Violent crime is turning the land of
the free into the land of the fearful. Today's workers and today's savers
are angry and disillusioned with a tax code that benefits only tax lawyers
and big government.

The American people elected us in the Congress to listen to you and then to
lead. So while we listen respectfully to the president's ideas, we cannot
wait on them.

One example is the drug crisis. With all due respect, for the past five
years, we've had all kinds of wrong signals.

But don't forget, today's young people confront a danger even worse than
poor education. Teen drug abuse has become epidemic, and there are no safe
havens from this insidious modern plague. Overall, teenage drug use has
nearly doubled since 1992 and, perhaps most frightening of all, nearly half
of all 17-year-olds say they could buy marijuana in just an hour's time.

Like the president, I want to stop youth smoking, but the narcotics problem
is a far greater threat to teenagers.

First, to solve the drug crisis, we have to start with the family, the
school and with our churches and synagogues. Studies show that teens in
families that eat together, play together and pray together are the ones
least likely to try drugs. When the battle against drug abuse is first waged
at home, the war is half won.

Second, schools must be drug-free. We must demand absolute accountability
and zero tolerance for any drug abuse on school grounds.

Third, there is the critical role of the federal government. We've simply
got to be more aggressive in guarding our national borders. Along with that,
we must be more vigilant in arresting and prosecuting anyone -- yes, anyone
- -- who sells this poison.

An fourth, it's time to get tough on society's predators. We must end parole
for violent criminals, crack down on juvenile criminals, increase prison
capacity, make the death penalty a real threat and impose mandatory
penalties for crimes committed with a gun. If we are honestly committed to
protecting the innocent, we must do more to punish the guilty.

By combining national leadership with community activism, we can -- and we
will -- save America, one child and one neighborhood at a time.[END QUOTE]