Home > 1998 Presidential Documents > pd09mr98 Proclamation 7071--Women's History Month, 1998...pd09mr98 Proclamation 7071--Women's History Month, 1998...
I hope the Congress will enact legislation as soon as possible to
help to ensure State passage of .08 BAC laws. Even before the Congress
acts, however, we can take action to promote .08 BAC as the appropriate
standard across the country, including on Federal property.
I therefore direct you, working with appropriate Federal agencies,
the Congress, the States, safety groups, and other concerned Americans,
to report back to me within 45 days with a plan to promote the adoption
of a .08 BAC legal limit. Among other things, the plan should consider:
(1) setting a .08 BAC standard on Federal property, including in
national parks and on Department of Defense installations,
and ensuring strong enforcement and publicity of this
standard;
(2) encouraging tribal governments to adopt, enforce, and
publicize a .08 BAC standard on highways in Indian Country
that are subject to their jurisdiction; and
(3) developing an educational campaign to help the public
understand the risks associated with combining alcohol
consumption and driving.
William J. Clinton
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Monday, March 9, 1998
Volume 34--Number 10
Pages 351-388
Week Ending Friday, March 6, 1998
Statement on the Decision of Representative Esteban Torres Not To Seek
Reelection
March 3, 1998
Throughout his distinguished career in the United States Congress,
Representative Esteban Torres has dedicated himself to bettering the
lives of his constituents and Hispanic-Americans across the country.
Representative Torres has shown true leadership in the area of civil
rights and has stood steadfast in an effort to bring our country
together amid all of our diversity to build a stronger community.
Congressman Torres has led efforts to provide people with the tools
they need to make the most of their own lives. He has set the standard
for excellence in public service and his retirement after over 15 years
will be a loss felt across the country.
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Monday, March 9, 1998
Volume 34--Number 10
Pages 351-388
Week Ending Friday, March 6, 1998
Statement on Senate Foreign Relations Committee Support for NATO
Enlargement
March 3, 1998
I welcome today's strong endorsement by the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee for admitting Poland, Hungary, and the Czech
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Republic to NATO. By adding these countries as our newest allies, we
will make NATO stronger, Europe more stable, and America more secure.
The United States has led the way in building an undivided,
democratic, peaceful Europe. I hope we will be among the first to ratify
NATO's historic enlargement. I look forward to the full Senate vote on
this issue in the weeks ahead.
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Monday, March 9, 1998
Volume 34--Number 10
Pages 351-388
Week Ending Friday, March 6, 1998
Memorandum on Conducting ``Conversations With America'' To Further
Improve Customer Service
March 3, 1998
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
Subject: Conducting ``Conversations with America'' to Further Improve
Customer Service
This Administration has made significant progress toward reinventing
Government to improve customer service since I issued Executive Order
12862, ``Setting Customer Service Standards,'' on September 11, 1993,
followed by my memorandum of March 22, 1995, ``Improving Customer
Service.'' For the first time, the Federal Government's customers have
been asked what they want and have been told that they have a right to
expect first-class service. Now they can see the results achieved
against the customer service standards that have been set in place.
On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the establishment of my
Administration's reinventing Government initiative, it is time to
increase efforts to engage customers in conversations about further
improving Government service. This initiative--``Conversations with
America''--will enable your agency to discover what is most important to
its customers and what the Federal Government can do to meet their
expectations. As your agency learns what Americans care about, use this
information to provide service that will equal the best in business and
serve as a model for others.
To carry out this effort and assure that Government works better and
gets results Americans care about, I am now directing the additional
steps set forth below.
Actions. The agencies covered by Executive Order 12862 are directed
as follows:
1. Agencies shall create activities and programs, continuing
throughout the year, that will engage customers in a discussion about
how to improve Government service by determining the kind and quality of
services they want and their level of satisfaction with existing
services.
2. By no later than March 16, 1998, agencies shall designate a
person within the agency to serve as the primary liaison to coordinate
information and programs dealing with the ``Conversations with America''
initiative. Agencies shall then provide the National Partnership for
Reinventing Government (NPR) with their agency's primary liaison and a
list of events the agency will conduct to engage Americans in
conversations about improving Government service. This monthly report
should provide the date and a brief description of each event.
3. Agencies shall engage the largest number of customers possible in
these conversations. The use of all forms of media is encouraged to
reach the largest possible audience. Particular emphasis should be
placed on conducting these conversations in the areas where agency
customers live and work.
4. In 1998, agencies shall put in place a process to address
customer complaints. Agency customers should be provided opportunities
for finding solutions to problems, such as ``Problem Solving Days'' and
other venues. Agencies shall track and analyze the data they receive and
use it to change processes that do not serve customers well. As your
agency identifies individual problems, work to solve them quickly and
systemically.
5. Agencies shall use the information from ``Conversations with
America'' and continue to track customer service measurements, then take
necessary actions to change or improve how the agency operates, as
appropriate. Integrate what your agency learns from its customers with
your agency's strategic plans, operating plans, and performance measures
required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993,
reporting on financial and program performance under the Chief Financial
Officers Act of 1990, and the Government Management Reform Act of 1994.
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6. As required by my memorandum on improving customer service of
March 22, 1995, each agency shall, on at least an annual basis, report
on the customer service results they have achieved in terms readily
understood by individual customers. Agencies shall continue actions
required by Executive Order 12862 as well, including, but not limited to
surveying employees and conducting benchmarking studies to assure we
achieve customer service for the American people that is equal to the
best in business.
Independent Agencies. Independent agencies are requested to adhere
to this directive.
Judicial Review. This directive is for the internal management of
the executive branch and does not create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against the United
States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or
any other person.
William J. Clinton
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Monday, March 9, 1998
Volume 34--Number 10
Pages 351-388
Week Ending Friday, March 6, 1998
Message to the Congress Transmitting the 1998 National Drug Control
Strategy
March 3, 1998
To the Congress of the United States:
On behalf of the American people, I am pleased to transmit the 1998
National Drug Control Strategy to the Congress. The 1998 Strategy
reaffirms our bipartisan, enduring commitment to reduce drug use and its
destructive consequences.
This year's Strategy builds upon the 1997 Strategy and is designed
to reduce drug use and availability in America in half over the next 10
years--a historic new low. This plan has been developed under the
leadership of General Barry McCaffrey, Director of National Drug Control
Policy, in close consultation with the Congress, the more than 50
Federal agencies and departments involved in the fight against drugs,
the dedicated men and women of law enforcement, and with stakeholders--
mayors, doctors, clergy, civic leaders, parents, and young people--drawn
from all segments of our society.
I am also proud to report that we have made real and substantial
progress in carrying out the goals of the 1997 Strategy. Working with
the Congress, we have begun the National Anti-Drug Youth Media Campaign.
Now when our children turn on the television, surf the ``net,'' or
listen to the radio, they can learn the plain truth about drugs: they
are wrong, they put your future at risk, and they can kill you. I thank
you for your vital support in bringing this important message to
America's young people.
Together, we enacted into law the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997,
which will help build and strengthen 14,000 community anti-drug
coalitions and brought together civic groups--ranging from the Elks to
the Girl Scouts and representing over 55 million Americans--to form a
Civic Alliance, targeting youth drug use. By mobilizing people and
empowering communities, we are defeating drugs through a child-by-child,
street-by-street, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach.
We have also helped make our streets and communities safer by
strengthening law enforcement. Through my Administration's Community
Oriented Police (COPs) program, we are helping but 100,000 more police
officers in towns and cities across the Nation. We are taking deadly
assault weapons out of the hands of drug dealers and gangs, making our
streets safer for our families. We have taken steps to rid our prisons
of drugs, as well as to break the vicious cycle of drugs and crime.
These efforts are making a difference: violent crime in America has
dropped dramatically for 5 years in a row.
Over the last year, the United States and Mexico reached agreement
on a mutual Threat Assessment that defines the scope of the common
threat we face; and, an Alliance that commits our great nations to
defeating that threat. Soon, we will sign a bilateral Strategy that
commits both nations to specific actions and performance benchmarks. Our
work to enhance cooperation within the hemisphere and worldwide is
already showing results. For example, Peruvian coca production has
declined by roughly 40 percent over the last 2 years. In 1997, Mexican
drug eradication rates reached record levels, and seizures increased
nearly 50 percent over 1996.
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We are making a difference. Drug use in America has declined by 50
percent over the last decade. For the first time in 6 years, studies
show that youth drug use is beginning to stabilize, and in some respects
is even declining. And indications are that the methamphetamine and
crack cocaine epidemics, which in recent years were sweeping the Nation,
have begun to recede.
However, we must not confuse progress with ultimate success.
Although youth drug use has started to decline, it remains unacceptably
high.
More than ever, we must recommit ourselves to give parents the tools
and support they need to teach children that drugs are dangerous and
wrong. That is why we must improve the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
program, and other after school initiatives that help keep our kids in
school, off drugs, and out of trouble. We must hire 1,000 new border
patrol agents and close the door on drugs at our borders. We must
redouble our efforts with other nations to take the profits out of drug
dealing and trafficking and break the sources of supply. And we must
enact comprehensive bipartisan tobacco legislation that reduces youth
smoking. These and other efforts are central elements of the 1998
National Drug Control Strategy.
With the help of the American public, and the ongoing support of the
Congress, we can achieve these goals. In submitting this plan to you, I
ask for your continued partnership in defeating drugs in America. Our
children and this Nation deserve no less.
William J. Clinton
The White House,
March 3, 1998.
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Monday, March 9, 1998
Volume 34--Number 10
Pages 351-388
Week Ending Friday, March 6, 1998
Message to the Congress Transmitting the Report of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development
Other Popular 1998 Presidential Documents Documents:
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